“It did not cooperate with the government”.. Revealing the reason for ending the “UNITAD” mission in Iraq
“It did not cooperate with the government”.. Revealing the reason for ending the “UNITAD” mission in Iraq
9-8-2024
Information/Translation
A report by the Digital Journal website revealed the reason for ending the mission of the United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNITAD) tasked with investigating ISIS crimes in Iraq, attributing this to its cooperation with foreign countries and its refusal to provide evidence to the Iraqi government.
The report, which was translated by Al-Maalouma Agency, stated that “the committee called UNITAD was formed in 2017 by the United Nations Security Council to investigate the genocide and war crimes committed by the terrorist organization ISIS.”
UNITAD chief Ana Piero Lopes spoke of her seven-year effort to bring jihadists to justice, saying a “misunderstanding” with Baghdad authorities contributed to the mission’s closure later this month.
“The commission was the only international investigative mission that was established on the ground, and there are not many who would have opened their doors to us in such a generous way to investigate crimes, and we could have acknowledged more publicly and clearly that the good work that we were able to do was only possible because we were invited and that it is unique work,” she said.
“The Iraqis saw tangible results in foreign jurisdictions, and came to the impression that UNITAD cooperated more with foreign countries than with Iraq,” Piero Lopes added.
Regarding the committee’s refusal to provide evidence to Iraq, one of the main points of disagreement with Baghdad was the sharing of evidence, as the committee’s chairwoman justified this by saying that “the United Nations has strict rules regarding confidentiality and respecting the consent of those who testify, which means that the evidence was not passed on to the Iraqis.”
Iraq’s representative to the United Nations said Baghdad had not received any evidence from the mission that could be used in criminal proceedings. “Although the committee has nearly 40 terabytes of documents related to the terrorist organization,”
almaalomah.me
