Crime against humanity is not only a legal obscenity in a certain territory but also prohibited by International Criminal Court (ICC). The individuals involved in anti-human crimes have to be brought to justice. However, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) commit the ugliest acts of cruelty, comparing to other militant groups, without feeling a sense of guilt or liable to prosecution. Yazidis’ men and women suffer the brunt of sectarian violence on the grounds of their religion and beliefs. Their rights are violated and their freedom is curtailed under the nose of international community.
According to reports, authorities in northern Iraq have discovered a mass grave near the town of Sinjar in recent days containing the remains of more than 120 Yazidis.
This is the sixth time that a burial site containing victims of the ISIL has been discovered near the town this month. The official in charge of the area, where the bodies were found, said fighters had rigged the graves with a collection of explosives in the event of Kurdish forces liberating the area.
Those buried at the site are believed to have been killed by the group during its control over the area, which began in the summer of 2014.
The grave, located about 10km west of Sinjar, has not yet been excavated, but the victims were not buried deeply, and some of their remains have been exposed by rainwater, according to a report.
Another mass grave found in the area was believed to hold the bodies of about 80 women, aged from 40 to around 80. An official said that the women may have been executed because they were deemed too old to enslave or rape.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters backed by US air strikes expelled ISIL fighters from Sinjar town earlier this month, allowing details of atrocities committed by the group to emerge.
“Grave, horrific human rights violations are being committed daily by ISIL and associated armed groups. They are systematically targeting men, women and children based on their ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliation and are ruthlessly carrying out widespread ethnic and religious cleansing in the areas under their control. Such persecution would amount to crimes against humanity.”
Yazidis, who belong to a religion deemed heretical by ISIL, were subject to a campaign of murder, rape and enslavement by the group. ISIL is believed to have massacred thousands of Yazidi men and abducted women for use as sex slaves by its fighters.
ISIL’s atrocities are no more secret for the world. Their acts of genocide in Syria and Iraq, sectarian violence in Afghanistan and murdering civilians in France have outraged humans’ conscience around the globe. The ISIL militant group tramples upon the rights and dignity of innocent civilians, including women and children, without considering legal or moral standards other than their harsh and stereotypical ideology. The militant ideologues and mercenaries seek to impose their beliefs with the barrel of gun and one who resists will be dishonored and shot dead – such practices are rife among the ISIL outfits.
Not surprisingly, the ISIL leader Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, like Mullah Muhammad Omar and Osama bin Laden, will continue his life without being impeached or prosecuted by International Criminal Court, in spite of perpetrating crimes against humanity. Considering the current violence and mass murders being committed under the caliphate of Baghdadi, the ICC should prescribe him guilty and render a verdict for his detention. In other words, the ICC must take serious action against the international criminals and fulfill its responsibilities properly.
It is rightly asserted in the preamble of Universal Declaration of Human Rights as, “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people….”
However, since the Universal Declaration is not considered binding, it failed to prevent from violence and bloodshed or alleviate the anguish of ethnic groups. To the world’s unmitigated chagrin, the outrageous crimes and “barbarous acts” continue unabated. There is no doubt that if the Universal Declaration plays the role of ethical code, without a legal force behind, it will never bear the desired fruit. So, to allay the global sufferings and violation of rights and dignity, the international community must react more seriously.
Referring to national and international law, life and liberty are natural and inalienable rights and “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” irrespective of their race, sex, color or beliefs. In another item, infringing upon one’s rights and dignity has no legal or moral bases and therefore militancy is denounced strongly. The dogmatic militants, who massacre men, women and children under their ideological justifications, must be combated internationally.
I emphasize that writing a list of rights or approving an ethical code will not be a panacea for the bleeding wounds of the terrorist victims but the international community is supposed to take practical steps to tackle the crises. Moreover, the world should join forces to root out the ISIL militant groups and put an end to the spread of extremism and civilians’ mass murder.