New York (Union)
The UAE affirmed its support for Iraq’s sovereignty, security, stability, and territorial integrity, noting that achieving accountability for the crimes committed by ISIS represents an important deterrent factor for terrorists around the world and serves efforts to prevent the return of the organization or the emergence of other more extremist organizations.
In a statement before the UN Security Council, delivered by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan yesterday, the UAE appreciated the progress made by the United Nations investigation team to enhance accountability for crimes committed by ISIS, UNITAD, during the past six months in Collecting evidence about the crimes committed by the terrorist organization in Iraq, some of which may amount to crimes against humanity and genocide, including investigations into the use of chemical and biological weapons, sexual violence against women and girls, and the destruction of cultural heritage sites, praising also the team’s efforts in exhuming remains from mass graves. .
The statement said, “These investigations conducted by the UNITAD team are necessary, but more importantly, the team delivers the evidence it developed or obtained to Iraq, so that it can benefit from it in conducting trials for ISIS members and achieving justice.”
He added: “Therefore, this issue must remain under the Council’s consideration, especially after the Secretary-General issues on the 15th of next January his expected report on possible ways of handing over to the Iraqi government all the evidence it collected and developed, including the evidence that The team shared it and all its details with third countries, as the Iraqi government is the main recipient of this evidence under Resolution 2379.”
The statement stressed the need for the Secretary-General’s proposals in this regard to be practical and applicable, with full respect for Iraq’s sovereignty.
He said: “There is no doubt that achieving accountability for the crimes committed by ISIS and handing over evidence to Iraq for use in national trials represents an important deterrent factor for terrorists around the world, and serves our joint efforts to prevent the return of this organization or the emergence of other, more extremist organizations.”
The statement affirmed support for the Iraqi government’s efforts to hold ISIS criminals accountable wherever they are, praising what has been achieved so far, as many survivors and victims’ families are still waiting for justice, including hundreds who have been wondering about the fate of their loved ones for many years.
The statement here stressed the need to continue sharing evidence with third countries, especially in light of increasing evidence indicating that a large number of ISIS members have fled to other countries, welcoming the Iraqi government and the UNITAD team reaching an agreement on mechanisms for sharing evidence with countries. Third.
The statement also welcomed the completion of the first joint case file between Iraqi investigative judges and the UNITAD team to support the trial of an ISIS member in a third country, thus strengthening international criminal justice and contributing to the transfer of expertise to the Iraqi authorities.
He urged the team to continue, during the remainder of its mandate, to transfer knowledge to Iraqi judges and experts, especially in the field of digital forensics. He welcomed the opening of 7 laboratories so far for digital forensics in Iraq. He also praised the UNITAD team’s efforts to digitize millions of documents and evidence to facilitate their use. By the Iraqi judicial authorities.
The statement urged that the Security Council be kept informed of the progress made in implementing all provisions of Resolution 2697 in the remaining period, especially during the briefing that will be held in June of next year, reiterating support for Iraq’s sovereignty, security, stability, and territorial integrity.
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