The United Nations mission tasked with assisting Iraq in investigating allegations of genocide and war crimes committed by the terrorist organization ISIS has prematurely ended its operations following strained relations with the Iraqi government.
The termination of the mission, formed in 2017, comes nearly a decade after the invasion of ISIS into various regions of Syria and Iraq.
However, many victims of the organization remain displaced in camps, yearning for justice.
Christian Ritscher, head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD), stated that the work has not been completed yet and emphasized the need for more time.
Setting a deadline for September 2024 would not suffice for completing investigations and other projects like establishing a centralized archive for millions of pieces of evidence.
Ritscher extensively discussed the termination of the mission for the first time since the UN Security Council renewed the mandate for only one year upon Iraq's request in September. International supporters and donors of UNITAD expected the investigative team to continue its work for several more years.
Furhad Aladdin, advisor to the Prime Minister for Foreign Relations, stated that Baghdad no longer saw the need for the investigative team and that it had not successfully collaborated with Iraqi authorities.
He emphasized that the mission had not responded to repeated requests to share evidence and must do so before concluding its work.
In a separate context, Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displacement, Evan Faiq Jabro, announced yesterday, July 30, as the deadline for the complete closure of displaced persons camps.
Jabro stated that they have set July 30 as the date for the complete closure of the camps and affirmed that the government has a genuine will to end the displacement file.
She pointed out that the ministry is committed to resolving the displacement issue and has the capability to do so within a month.
Jabro noted that the government has taken decisions to encourage the voluntary return of displaced persons to their areas, including increasing the return grant from one million to four million dinars.
She further stated that the ministry will withdraw its support from the camps after July 30 and indicated that the Prime Minister directed efforts to provide all services to Sinjar.
According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Migration, the number of displaced persons concentrated in the Kurdistan Region has decreased to less than 30,000 displaced families with the closure of camps in Ninewa and Sulaymaniyah provinces.
Earlier, Migration announced the closure of the Taza Dey camp in Sulaymaniyah after the last batch of displaced persons was returned to their original areas in Diyala and Salah al-Din provinces.
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