UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria called on the international community to recognize the crime of genocide being committed by ISIS against the Êzidîs, reiterating its recommendation to all parties fighting ISIS to consider rescue plans of Êzidî captives.
Three years after the ISIS’ genocidal attack on the Êzidîs, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria called on the international community to recognize the crime of genocide being committed by ISIS against the Êzidîs and to undertake steps to refer the situation to justice, and reiterated its recommendation to all parties fighting ISIS to consider rescue plans of Êzidî captives.
The statement by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria recalled that the terrorist group ISIS executed hundreds of men and took captive thousands of women and children following their first wave of attacks on the Êzidî community of Shengal in the early hours of 3 August 2014. The statement noted that the Êzidîs are a distinct religious community whose beliefs and practice span thousands of years, and who ISIS publicly reviles as infidels.
The UN Commission said:
“The genocide is on-going and remains largely unaddressed, despite the obligation of States Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948 to prevent and to punish the crime. Thousands of Êzidî men and boys remain missing and the terrorist group continues to subject some 3,000 women and girls in Syria to horrific violence including brutal daily rapes and beatings. Some women and girls are being held in Raqqa city. As the Syrian Democratic Forces and international coalition offensive on Raqqa intensifies, reports have emerged of ISIS fighters trying to sell enslaved Êzidî women and girls before attempting to flee Syria.”
The Commission recommended to all parties fighting ISIS to consider plans aimed at rescuing Êzidî captives and use all means available to ensure they are set free during on-going military operations.
The UN Commission stressed that: “The international community must also recognize ISIS is committing the crime of genocide against the Êzidîs and undertake steps to refer the situation to justice, including to the International Criminal Court or an ad hoc tribunal with relevant geographic and temporal jurisdiction as well as to dedicate resources to bringing cases before national courts, whether under the framework of universal jurisdiction or otherwise.”
