عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Nobel Winner Demands Justice after UN Finds 'Genocide' against Yazidis

Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, pictured here in August 2019, is herself a victim of Islamic State violence - AFP
Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, pictured here in August 2019, is herself a victim of Islamic State violence - AFP
TT
20
TT

Nobel Winner Demands Justice after UN Finds 'Genocide' against Yazidis

Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, pictured here in August 2019, is herself a victim of Islamic State violence - AFP
Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, pictured here in August 2019, is herself a victim of Islamic State violence - AFP

Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad pleaded with the United Nations Security Council on Monday to refer the ISIS group to the International Criminal Court after UN investigators concluded the extremists committed "genocide" against Yazidis in Iraq.

"International tribunals are needed to address the universal magnitude of ISIS crimes against humanity," said Murad, using another acronym for the group.

"We asked you to refer this genocide to the ICC or establish a court by treaty. It is time for the international community to do more. It is time to act," added the 2018 Nobel winner, herself a victim of ISIS violence.

Murad referred to the latest report from a group of UN investigators, headed by Karim Asad Ahmad Khan and created in 2017 to probe crimes committed by ISIS.

"The evidence collected by Mr Khan and the unit team affirmed the conclusion reached by the United Nations in 2016. ISIS crimes against Yazidis constitutes genocide," said Murad, AFP reported.

"The Council must now prioritize and accelerate concrete action to address the findings," she added.

The report released Monday completed probes into attacks against the Yazidi community in the Sinjar region and the mass killing of unarmed cadets and military personnel at Tikrit Air Academy in June 2014.

Khan told a press conference presenting the findings there was "clear and convincing evidence that genocide was committed by ISIS against the Yazidi as a religious group."

"Evidence collected by the Team had also confirmed ISIS was responsible for acts of extermination, murder, rape, torture, enslavement, persecution and other war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Yazidis," he said.

The report found the "repeated deployment of chemical weapons by ISIS against civilian populations in Iraq between 2014 and 2016, as well as the testing of biological agents on prisoners."

Khan is due to take up his new role as the ICC's chief prosecutor in June. In the past he has called for trials along the lines of that of Nazi leaders at Nuremberg.

ISIS, defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017, left behind more than 200 mass graves that could contain up to 12,000 bodies, according to the UN.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
20
TT

Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country’s devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side.

The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF’s negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain.

“Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.”

He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan’s military-backed government.

However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting.

“We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,” he said, adding that the RSF remains “at its strongest” on the battlefield.

Sudan’s army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF.

Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control.

Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a “government of unity and peace.”

He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed.

“The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.”

Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum.

“There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,” he said. “From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.”

He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance.

The RSF’s moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.