World
A photo taken on July 27, 2019 shows head of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh (UNITAD) Karim Khan in Baghdad. File photo: Sabah Arar/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The British barrister heading investigations into Islamic State (ISIS) group crimes in Iraq was elected on Friday as the new prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Karim Khan, 50, will assume the position on June 16, 2021. His legal career has seen him appearing before the ICC and international tribunals for Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Cambodia.
Tweeting her congratulations to Khan, Nobel laureate Nadia Murad described him as “a fierce advocate of justice for the Yazidi people & he will no doubt continue to support marginalized communities by holding perpetrators accountable for atrocities.”
UNITAD, the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh (ISIS), was established by the UN Security Council in 2017 at Iraq’s request and tasked with investigating ISIS crimes with the goal of prosecuting members of the group. Khan was appointed to head the investigation the following year and has called for trials of ISIS suspects similar to those at Nuremberg for Nazi leaders.
Last week, the remains of 104 Yazidis killed during the ISIS genocide against the ethno-religious minority in northern Iraq were laid to rest. This was the first funeral for victims exhumed from mass graves in Iraq with the coordination of UNITAD.
Yazidi activists have called for an international court to prosecute ISIS suspects on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutions in Iraq have been criticized by rights groups for flawed trials, vague terrorism charges, and use of the death penalty.
Replying to Murad on Twitter, Khan said, “Your courage and leadership and example is an inspiration to me Nadia – and to all of us. Your voice made the world to see…. Thank you for your support of UNITAD and trust in me and the whole team. We remain united my dear sister.”
The ICC investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. It has secured five convictions in two decades. As prosecutor, two of Khan’s first files will be an investigation of war crimes in Afghanistan and a probe into the 2014 Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza.
His predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, was one of two ICC officials sanctioned by the United States last year. Announcing the sanctions, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the ICC a “thoroughly broken and corrupted institution” that “continues to target Americans, sadly.”
Elizabeth Evenson, associate director the International Justice Program of Human Rights Watch, welcomed Khan’s election, saying it “comes at a moment when the court is needed more than ever and faces both internal performance shortcomings and external pressure about its role,” the New York Times reported.
Karim Khan, 50, will assume the position on June 16, 2021. His legal career has seen him appearing before the ICC and international tribunals for Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Cambodia.
Tweeting her congratulations to Khan, Nobel laureate Nadia Murad described him as “a fierce advocate of justice for the Yazidi people & he will no doubt continue to support marginalized communities by holding perpetrators accountable for atrocities.”
UNITAD, the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh (ISIS), was established by the UN Security Council in 2017 at Iraq’s request and tasked with investigating ISIS crimes with the goal of prosecuting members of the group. Khan was appointed to head the investigation the following year and has called for trials of ISIS suspects similar to those at Nuremberg for Nazi leaders.
Last week, the remains of 104 Yazidis killed during the ISIS genocide against the ethno-religious minority in northern Iraq were laid to rest. This was the first funeral for victims exhumed from mass graves in Iraq with the coordination of UNITAD.
Yazidi activists have called for an international court to prosecute ISIS suspects on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutions in Iraq have been criticized by rights groups for flawed trials, vague terrorism charges, and use of the death penalty.
Replying to Murad on Twitter, Khan said, “Your courage and leadership and example is an inspiration to me Nadia – and to all of us. Your voice made the world to see…. Thank you for your support of UNITAD and trust in me and the whole team. We remain united my dear sister.”
The ICC investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. It has secured five convictions in two decades. As prosecutor, two of Khan’s first files will be an investigation of war crimes in Afghanistan and a probe into the 2014 Israel-Palestine conflict in Gaza.
His predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, was one of two ICC officials sanctioned by the United States last year. Announcing the sanctions, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the ICC a “thoroughly broken and corrupted institution” that “continues to target Americans, sadly.”
Elizabeth Evenson, associate director the International Justice Program of Human Rights Watch, welcomed Khan’s election, saying it “comes at a moment when the court is needed more than ever and faces both internal performance shortcomings and external pressure about its role,” the New York Times reported.
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