Diyala province in Iraq is witnessing an unprecedented increase in the displacement and killings of people on an ethnic and sectarian basis that has been taking place since the beginning of 2016.

This seems to be a continuation of well-planned operations ongoing in the province since the US-led invasion in 2003. The evidence and testimonies derived from the facts on the ground confirm that this is a major international crime underway, that has been well planned and is currently being systematically executed and is coherent with the results of an implementation process that takes place on several episodes, with the participation of associated powers existing within Iraq’s current state organs and orchestrated through its branches and units.

The Iraqi authorities are covertly trying to reduce their guilt, by saying the perpetrators are forces from outside the realms of law, which they further conveniently have labelled as “terrorists.” The authorities know full and well that these acts of violence are organized and ongoing operations, carried out by militia forces associated with and backed by them, under an umbrella name of “Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi” or known in English as “Popular Mobilization Forces” commonly abbreviated as “PMF”. This state backed militia acts on orders of the government, carries out operations together with the regular Iraqi army, and in many instances even commands the Iraqi regular forces; this gives them immunity from any form of legal prosecution in Iraq.

GICJ has collected documented information and evidence in regards to these crimes, some of which have been obtained from people on the ground as well as members of the local authorities, emphasizing the active participation of the organs of power in the implementation of this heinous crime which is done due to the ethnic and religious background of the victims, the crime this time being directed intentionally against one specific category of people; the Sunni Arabs. This particular community is facing death, displacement and detention of hundreds of thousands of its members.

There are also widespread cases of house demolitions and looting. The burning and desecration of their mosques, together with the humiliation and insult of their imams and preachers is a clear policy that aims at deliberately degrading their dignity in front of the community and their peers. Underlining the fact that what is going on in Diyala undoubtedly constitutes the crime of ethnic cleansing.

Geneva International Centre for Justice strongly accuses the government of Haider al-Abadi, of being legally responsible in being engaged unequivocally and intentionally in committing a crime of "ethnic cleansing" on the grounds of ethnicity and religion in the Diyala province of the Republic of Iraq.

Hence, the international community as a whole and in the forefront of it the United Nations bodies, particularly the UN Security Council; the Human Rights Council; the International Criminal Court; the Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention; the United Nations offices in Iraq; members of the United Nations; regional groups (the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference), have the legal and moral responsibility to intervene immediately and without delay to stop the ongoing progression of this crime in accordance with the clear responsibilities set forth in the relevant charters and conventions.

GICJ calls on them to take all measures in order to refer the situation to international or local tribunals and to prosecute all those involved in this crime against humanity, to prevent the aggravation of the situation and an increase in the number of victims.

The situation requires an immediate and urgent dispatch of an international independent investigative mission, and under no circumstances trusts the promises of investigations from within Iraq’s state institutions; neither the judiciary, the military, the government nor the parliament should be allowed to part-take in this investigation.

Key Suspects

Geneva International Centre for Justice will provide an initial list of the most prominent individuals accused of committing the crime of ethnic and sectarian cleansing in the province of Diyala in the following chapters of this report. The list, although still in the process of completion, will list and archive the names and the details of certain prominent individuals and their participation in the planning and execution of the crimes in question.

Key suspected of taking part in the crime includes: Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister Hayder al-Abadi, Qassem Soleimani, Hadi al-Amiri, Salim Al-Jabouri, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Minister of Defence Mohammed al-Obaidi, Minister of Interior Mohammed al-Ghabban, Former Diyala province police chief Jamil al-Shammari.

Full report: https://www.gicj.org/index.php?mylang=...