Iraqi minorities face existential threat
Islamic State terrorists (ISIS) are trying to eradicate minority groups from large parts of Iraq, warns Minority Rights Group International in a report.
The report details war crimes perpetrated by ISIS against Iraq’s Christian, Kaka’i, Shabak, Turkmen and Yazidi populations, including summary executions, abductions, rape and other abuses.
Iraqi minorities face an existential threat, according to the Institute of International Law and Human Rights (IILHR), one of the groups that helped with the report.
“While military action against ISIS dominates the headlines, to date there has been no serious effort to bring the perpetrators of crimes against minorities to justice,” says Director of IILHR. “Minorities were first caught by wholesale discrimination and violence well before the arrival of ISIS. Now they face a new threat to their existence from ISIS attacks.”
Key Findings
- Since June 2014, the rapid spread of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham) forces across northern Iraq has triggered a wave of displacement, with more than 2 million people uprooted. Ethnic and religious minorities have been particularly targeted, including Christians, Kaka’i, Shabak, Turkmen and Yezidis, with thousands killed and many more injured or abducted.
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Summary executions, forced conversion, rape, sexual enslavement, the destruction of places of worship, the abduction of children, the looting of property and other severe human rights abuses and crimes under international law have been committed repeatedly by ISIS. While minorities have long been vulnerable to attacks by extremists, this violence appears to be part of a systematic strategy to remove these communities permanently from areas where they have lived for centuries.
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The current situation for the millions of displaced persons in Iraq, many of whom belong to minority groups, is characterized by deteriorating humanitarian conditions in camps, abandoned buildings and informal settlements. The lack of an effective response from the government, combined with limited resources from international agencies, has left many without adequate food, water, health care, shelter and other necessities, with women and children especially vulnerable.
See: Between the Millstones: Iraq’s Minorities Since the Fall of Mosul
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