Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, born in Edinburgh, will serve as special adviser and head of the investigation team established by the UN Security Council at the request of Iraq last September.
“Mr. Khan has extensive experience in acting as prosecutor, victim’s counsel and defence lawyer in domestic and international criminal tribunals,” read a statement issued by Guterres’ office on Thursday.
Khan was appointed defence attorney by a special court in Freetown for former Liberian president Charles Taylor who was convicted in The Hague in 2012 of aiding and abetting war crimes during Sierra Leone’s civil war.
He has also appeared before the International Criminal Court and international tribunals for Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Cambodia.
“Mr. Khan has studied and lectured on Islamic law and has published extensively in the area of international criminal justice and human rights,” Guterres’ statement adds.
Last August, Iraq made a formal request to the Security Council to help collect evidence to prosecute ISIS militants for possible war crimes.
The UN’s team will respect the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Iraq as they collect evidence to be used in fair and independent criminal proceedings in Iraqi courts.
The team will be funded by the UN though the Security Council has also requested voluntary contributions.
The Yezidi community, who suffered genocide at the hands of ISIS, are hoping that the UN’s team will help to de-politicize the investigations and bring justice.
Murad Ismael, the executive director of Yezidi advocacy group Yazda, recently discussed with Rudaw English the multiple investigations that are ongoing. The KRG has a team doing good work in Duhok, he explained, and Iraq has said they have established an investigation commission. Individual communities like Yezidis and Christians are also compiling their own evidence.
“But everything is political here,” Ismael bemoaned.
