Commemorating the Day of International Criminal Justice, Halabja civil society organizations, authorities, civil society activists and victims of chemical weapons renewed their call in a joint statement demanding Iraq ratify the Rome Statute and join the International Criminal Court.
“In order to stop future genocides or stop the repetition of past genocides, the Iraqi government, to reassure the people of Kurdistan, must sign the Rome Statute and become a member of the International Criminal Court,” the statement read.
The Rome Statute, which is the foundation of the ICC, was adopted in a diplomatic conference in July 1998, and came into force in July 2002.
On orders of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Halabja was the sight of a devastating chemical attack on a civilian population, which led to the immediate death of an estimated 5,000 people in 1988.
Iraq submitted an application to the Rome Statute on February 15, 2005, but after only two weeks withdrew the application without issuing any explanation.
Luqman Abdul-Qadir, the head of the Halabja Chemical Victims Society, said he believes Iraqi authorities refuse to join the ICC because of sectarian motivations.
“The person who represented Iraq at the time was a Shiite, and they (the Shiites) thought that the Sunnis would gain back power and that is why they tried to become a member of the Rome Statute. But after they realized that they themselves would become the rulers of Iraq they withdrew the application,” Abdul-Qadir said.
This summer the Iraqi government received the first round of F-16 fighter jets it purchased from the United States in 2011. The US administration had refused to deliver on its contract to the former Shiite-dominated government under Prime Minister Maliki, reportedly at the request of the Kurdistan region.
Baran Mohamed, a lawyer from Halabja, said he sees the F-16 delivery as dangerous for Iraqi minorities. He said an international legal treaty like the Rome Statute is more important than ever. “There must be a guarantee that Iraq can longer act on itself freely,” he said.
Khidir Kareem, Halabja’s mayor and vice-president of the Mayors for Peace organization, shares Mohamed’s skepticism. He said that he will never trust the Iraqi government. “I think if Iraq would become capable it will try to attack Kurdistan,” he said.
Fear of another genocide by the Iraqi government is not the only reason why the Kurds want Iraq to enter the ICC. The Kurdistan Regional Government is convinced that the Islamic State’s crimes amount to genocide against the Kurdish Yezidis and Christians.
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, on the alleged crimes committed by ISIS, released a statement in April 2015 emphasizing that, “Syria and Iraq are not Parties to the Rome Statute. Therefore, the Court has no territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed on their soil.”
“We have to force—and here I mean to force instead of instructing—the Iraqi government to become a member of the ICC,” said Kareem, promising to send a delegation to Baghdad concerning the issue.
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