United Nations Under-Secretary-General (USG) and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, and Special Adviser (SA) and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to promote accountability for crimes committed by Da’esh/ISIL in Iraq, Karim A. A. Khan Q.C., commended religious leaders for endorsing  an Interfaith Statement on the Victims of ISIL.

The Statement followed extensive engagement with religious authorities by UNITAD which continued during USG Dieng’s visit to Iraq between 1–6 March. The statement is the first time Iraqi religious leaders have formally endorsed a common statement on the need for justice and the rights of victims and survivors of ISIL. USG Dieng and SA Khan applauded its adoption by His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Hassan al-Taha Chairman of the Iraq Jurisprudence Council, His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Mahdi Al-Karbala’i, His Holiness Baba Sheikh Khurto Hajji Ismail Yazidi Supreme Spiritual Leader, and His Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and Head of the Chaldean Catholic Church.

In the Statement, religious leaders repudiate and condemn the violence of ISIL as completely contrary to their respective faiths. It also underscores that members of all religions across Iraq have been impacted by the crimes of Da’esh, and that all survivors must be supported in their efforts to continue their lives within their communities. The Statement also recognizes the many acts of heroism in which members of their respective communities rose up in defense of those from other religious and ethnic backgrounds.

USG Dieng and SA Khan were particularly pleased that the religious leaders spoke with one voice in acknowledging the tremendous suffering members of their communities had endured as a result of sexual and gender-based violence and in underlining their commitment to ensure that survivors of such crimes are fully supported and do not suffer from any form of stigmatization. Noting the particular suffering endured by children impacted by the crimes of ISIL, the religious leaders recognized that such children are blameless and should benefit from love and kindness.

The critical importance of ensuring that ISIL members are held individually responsible for crimes committed, through fair trials in a court of law, as well as the investigation of cases of those disappeared and abducted by ISIL, is further underlined in the Statement. In this regard, all religious authorities expressed their strong collective support for the work of UNITAD.

USG Dieng and SA Khan emphasized that the collective endorsement of this statement reflected the religious leaders’ joint effort in advancing accountability for crimes committed by ISIL and prioritizing the need for justice and accountability – as well as empathy and solidarity for all victims. They stressed the crucial role religious leaders can play in fostering a peaceful and inclusive society and noted their essential role in ensuring effective support to the survivors of ISIL, countering violent ideology, mistrust and fear, and in bringing people together on the common ground of humanity.

SA Khan stated “This Statement constitutes an extremely important moment, representing as it does, a coming together of leaders from the Christian, Sunni, Shia and Yazidi communities, around universal values represented and promoted by their respective faiths. Justice for the victims of ISIL, support for survivors and an emphasis on inclusion and support in preference to exclusion, stigmatization and derision are important elements to ensure support for survivors – whether men, women or children. I am particularly grateful to the religious leaders for reiterating their unequivocal support for UNITAD and its mandate to vindicate the rights of victims and survivors to justice.”

USG Dieng stated “This Interfaith Statement constitutes a strong symbol of unity and a renewed call to deepen efforts to address concerns from all citizens of Iraq in their quest for a future together and in peace. It also represents a strong endorsement from these religious communities of the imperative to hold ISIL members responsible for their crimes”.

Reflecting his engagement with religious authorities across Iraq during the visit, as well as the statement made by Sheikh Ahmed Hasan al-Taha upon signature, USG Dieng further noted that efforts were also needed to ensure that accountability is delivered for all crimes committed against members of all communities in Iraq. He noted that such work would serve to strengthen the basis for stable and peaceful relations across Iraq, and that in his capacity as Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, he will continue to engage with national governments, UN partners and other actors to promote justice for all victims as well as recognition of their suffering.

Upon endorsing the Statement during a meeting with USG Dieng and SA Khan on 6 March, His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Mahdi Al-Karbala’i described the meeting as “an historic day” and he called upon other religious communities to also endorse the Statement. In the same vein, Cardinal Sako proposed a follow-up conference to broaden the endorsement for the Statement by other religious communities and build upon it.

USG Dieng and SA Khan noted that the adoption of the Statement represented the beginning of a process of further engagement with other religious leaders in Iraq and both emphasized that the statement remains open for signature and that any and all faith leaders who wish to sign or endorse the Statement and implement the principles reflected within it are welcome to do so.

Religious leaders from communities across Iraq called for greater “healing and reconciliation” during a UN-organized event on Thursday, reaffirming their commitment to support survivors of crimes perpetrated by ISIL terrorist fighters.

Key signatories of a landmark Interfaith Statement on the Victims and Survivors of ISIL – representing Islam, the Christian church and other faiths – joined the discussion online, held under the auspices of the UN Special Adviser who also heads up the Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh / ISIL (UNITAD) and co-hosted by the international coalition, Religions for Peace, which consists of 90 national and six regional Interreligious Councils.

The event was made possible by the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, headed up by Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser, Adama Dieng.

Mr Dieng said it was and honour to be accompanied by religious representatives “whose tireless work, days after day, is making a difference in the lives of all Iraqis. Their leading efforts for justice, peace and reconciliation constitutes an example for all society to follow.”

Many still vulnerable: Dieng

He noted that many of the challenges for peace in Iraq did not start with the emergence of ISIL nor have they ended with its military defeat: “Many communities still feel vulnerable and consider that not enough is being done to protect not only their linguistic, religious or cultural heritage, but their very physical integrity. Addressing long-term grievances is one the most effective ways of prioritizing prevention of human rights violations, including atrocity crimes.”

He noted that Iraqi society has experienced “the tremendous cost of not addressing long-term grievances. It must therefore work to build and strengthen an inclusive society, where diversity is not perceived as a flaw but as an asset.

The prevention of genocide chief said he was convinced that Thursday’s Interfaith Statement on Victims and Survivors of ISIL constitutes “an essential step in this direction, in line with the Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes. I am proud to support it and commit my Office’s assistance in ensuring its full implementation.”

The participants condemned ISIL’s ideologically-driven acts of terror as being “contrary to the core principles of our religious faiths as well as the fundamental values of humanity”.

“What can religion be if not for peace?”, UNITAD Head, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan QC said to the meeting.

Attacks ‘far from over’

The UNITAD chief, expressed gratitude to Iraq religious leaders for their courage “in these difficult times” as they together support survivors and victims of ISIL. 

Stressing that as ISIL attacks are “far from over” across the world, he exhorted representatives of all religions to denounce the group’s ideology as alien to religious values and those of all humanity. 

According to Mr. Khan, the only way to respond to groups like ISIL, is for religious leaders to support each other and each other’s communities.

“Whenever people seek to weigh the worth of humans by their own belief, there should be alarm”, flagged the Special Advisor, adding that everyone must “start to implement a zero tolerance to intolerance.”

No religion spared

All religions across Iraq have been impacted by ISIL atrocities, the signatories said, as they underlined the importance of supporting survivors within their own communities.

“In showing ISIL crimes are divorced from the values of all faiths, Iraqi religious leaders have exposed crimes of ISIL”, upheld the UNITAD chief.
 
At the same time, the participants also noted that their brutality had prompted “acts of heroism” in which religious communities rose up in defence of those from different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

The most vulnerable

In recognizing the “tremendous suffering” endured by victims of sexual and gender-based violence, the signatories underscored their commitment to ensuring that those individuals are “fully supported” and do not suffer from stigmatization.

And for the “innocent children of God” impacted by ISIL, they stressed that “whatever pain these children have suffered, they are blameless” and called on the terrorists to return every child they have abducted to their rightful families.

Delivering justice

Justice will only be delivered for ISIL victims by ensuring that those who fought in its name, are held responsible for their actions, and that people forced to flee the violence, can return home safely.

To this end, they underscored their “strong collective support” for UNITAD’s work while stressed the importance of exposing ISIL’s offenses in a court of law.

“Investigating the cases of disappeared persons and those abducted” not only delivers justice for victims but also promotes “understanding of the severity and scale” of the violence and prevents “future revisionism”, maintained the signatories.

In closing, they highlighted their “common commitment” and “collective stamina” to promote “justice, tolerance, reconciliation and forgiveness” as the most effective way to combat ISIL’s crimes in Iraq.

This also serves as “a key step in preventing the re-emergence” of any similar terrorist ideology or groups, said the religious leaders.