UN Accuses Islamic State Of
A "staggering array" of human rights abuses has been committed by
Islamic State (IS) militants and associated armed groups over a
nine-week period in Iraq, the UN says. It says that abuses committed
between 6 July to 10 September may amount to war crimes or crimes
against humanity. Iraqi leaders must unite to restore control over IS
areas, the UN says. It says that a number of violations have also been
committed by Iraqi security forces and their associates.
The UN report, produced jointly by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq
(Unami) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is
based on almost 500 interviews. It says that abuses perpetrated by IS
and associated armed groups have an "apparent systematic and widespread
character". "These include attacks directly targeting civilians and
civilian infrastructure, executions and other targeted killings of
civilians, abductions, rape and other forms of sexual and physical
violence. [They are] perpetrated against women and children, forced
recruitment of children, destruction or desecration of places of
religious or cultural significance, wanton destruction and looting of
property, and denial of fundamental freedoms," the report says.
It says that the victims of the abuses are police officers, soldiers,
and journalists and members of Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious
communities, who have been subjected to "gross human rights abuses, at
times aimed at destroying, suppressing or cleansing them from areas
under their control". "This report is terrifying," Special
Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Nickolay Mladenov
said.
He said that hundreds of other allegations concerning the killing of
civilians were not included because they had not yet been properly
verified. "Iraqi leaders must act in unity to restore control over areas
that have been taken over by IS and implement inclusive social,
political and economic reforms," Mr Mladenov said.
The report also details rights violations committed by the Iraqi
security forces and affiliated armed groups during the same period.
"These included air strikes and shelling as well as the conduct of
particular military operations or attacks that may have violated the
principles of distinction and proportionality under international
humanitarian law," the report says. On Wednesday, Unami announced that
overall a total of at least 9,347 civilians had been killed so far in
2014 and 17,386 wounded well over half of them since IS began
over-running large parts of the north in early June.
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