General Debate Under Item 2: Oral update by the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights worldwide

Mr. President,

This is joint statement by EAFORD and the Geneva International Centre for Justice. We acknowledge the rise in human rights violations of terrorist groups, especially ISIS but we beseech the recognition of crimes committed by government militia groups that go under the radar. In this instance, we raise concern on the challenging situation in Iraq.

Over the years, coalition strikes have destroyed residential and civil areas killing and displacing innocent women and children. In Fallujah, for instance, households have been destroyed and children maimed by air strikes.
Additionally, images and videos displaying soldiers threatening and beating innocent men and arbitrarily killing prisoners have surfaced. On-ground reports and visual material show indiscriminate targeting of civilian households and properties, acts of abuse including rape, torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings committed under the guise of fighting ISIS.

Despite acceding to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, challenges persist. Children have been and continue to be recruited into military training camps by armed militia groups.

For the protection and safety of the Iraqi people we recommend to the UN the establishment and exercise of a monitoring mechanism to investigate human rights violations and identify all perpetrators to be held in account.

We call the Iraqi government to dissolve the militias in Iraq and bring all perpetrators to justice and immediately halt affiliation and participation of children with terrorist militia groups.

Thank you.