Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in Iraq in the light of abuses committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated groups in English



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3. Sexual and gender-based violence

  1. The mission gathered corroborated witness statements indicating clear patterns of sexual and gender-based violence against Yezidi women. When attacking Yezidi villages, ISIL reportedly engaged in the systematic and widespread killing of men, including boys over the age of 14. Women and children were subjected to different violations. Accounts indicate that ISIL views captured women and children as spoils of war which they own. Numerous interviews conducted with Yezidi women and girls who fled ISIL captivity between November 2014 and January 2015 provided reliable information of killings, widespread and systematic enslavement, including selling of women, rape, and sexual slavery, forced transfer of women and children and inhuman and degrading treatment. Many of the women interviewed were able to identify the origin of their ISIL captors, belonging to a wide range of countries.

  2. Following the systematic separation of men, women and young children, Yezidi women were further divided into three groups: married women with children, married women without children, and unmarried women and young girls. Each of these groups was transferred to different locations in ISIL-controlled territory, with some victims transferred to more than 10 different locations during a four-month period. These repeated transfers and displacement were apparently aimed at reinforcing ISIL control over the victims by instilling feelings of fear, insecurity and disorientation.

  3. Girls and unmarried women who escaped from ISIL captivity consistently recounted the process by which they were raped and sexually enslaved. ISIL members numbered them or recorded names on lists, and inspected them to evaluate their beauty. While some were given as ‘gifts,’ others were sold to local or foreign ISIL fighters. Some victims were privy to price negotiations between ‘vendors’ and ‘buyers.’ An ‘emir’10 would instruct ISIL fighters to inspect and choose girls for ‘marriage.’ Girls would then be prepared for ‘marriage’ (rape) involving, in some cases, full body searches. Mission investigators met with victims as young as 11 years of age.11 A 30 year-old woman detailed how young girls were prepared for sale at a house in Mosul. They were ordered to stand and remove their headscarves to be inspected. Then they were forced to smile while ISIL fighters took photographs.

  4. A victim witnessed similar cruel and inhuman treatment following her transfer to Adnaani, a 15-minute drive from Ba’aj, Ninewa governorate. She recounted that an ‘emir’ wrote the names of 14 girls on small pieces of paper and called two ISIL fighters who both picked one piece of paper. The ‘emir’ asked the ISIL fighters to call out the name written on the paper. The 15 and 18 year old girls whose names were called were forcibly taken by the two fighters into another room. The ‘emir’ and a so-called ‘Imam’ who was in the room laughed when they heard the two girls screaming. After around 20 minutes, the two girls were brought back into the room. The witness said both girls were in shock and had blood on their trousers. Both confirmed to the witness that they had been ‘married’ (raped).

  5. A 19-year-old pregnant married woman explained that she was repeatedly raped by an ISIL ‘doctor’ for two and a half months in Hawija District, Kirkuk governorate.12 There were visible lacerations on her breast, indicating she may have been tortured. According to the woman, the doctor sat on her stomach, aiming to kill her unborn child, saying, “this baby should die because it is an infidel; I can make a Muslim baby.”

  6. The mission obtained credible reports about the rape of young girls, including nine and six year-olds. The former was raped for three days by an ISIL fighter in Tel Qaseb, Ninewa governorate. A witness stated that she could clearly hear the girl being assaulted and screaming out her name for help. The girl told the witness that she was blindfolded, handcuffed, beaten and repeatedly raped. Eventually, her ‘owner’ sold her to another ISIL fighter from Syria. In the same house, a six year-old girl was raped by another ISIL fighter. A witness heard the child screaming.13 She was reportedly sold to an ISIL fighter in Syria.

  7. Witnesses reported that a doctor conducted abortions on two women in a school in Ba’aj, Ninewa, who were two and three months pregnant, respectively. Prior to the abortion, one witness reportedly heard an ISIL fighter stating: “we do not want more Yezidis to be born.” Both women received an injection and were made to take pills. A week after the abortion, both women were sold.

  8. Women who escaped ISIL custody recounted how they were forcibly transferred multiple times to different locations, including Adnaani, al-Nufus, Ba’aj, Fallujah, Gayara, Hawija, Khaini, Kirkuk, Kocho, Mosul,14 Rambosi, Sheba, Solagh, Tel Afar,15 Tel Qaseb, Tel Banat and Wardya in Iraq. Other women and children were transferred to al-Hassakeh, al-Shadadiyah, Deir-ez-Zoor, Ghazna, Membij, Raqqa and Tel Abyad in Syria.

  9. Many survivors of sexual violence experienced the loss of loved ones killed by ISIL. Some witnessed these attacks and are severely traumatised. Suicides and attempted suicides have sharply risen amongst these women and girls. Many survivors interviewed displayed visible signs of trauma and depression. The mission spoke to men who were desperate and felt helpless being separated from their wives and children. One stated: “losing my wife and children to ISIL is the worst nightmare that could happen to a man.”

4. Recruitment and use of children

  1. Based on information provided by victims and witnesses, it is reasonable to conclude that ISIL used, conscripted or enlisted children between the age of eight and 18 to participate in the armed conflict in breach of international human rights law,16 international criminal law,17 and customary international humanitarian law.

  2. The mission interviewed Yezidi children who escaped ISIL captivity. In August 2014, following the abduction of thousands of Yezidis by ISIL fighters, children aged between eight and 15 were separated from their mothers and transferred to different locations in Iraq and Syria, including a school in Tel Afar and a school on the outskirts of Raqqa, Syria. Children recounted how they received religious and military training following their forced conversion. Training lasted from 13 days to three weeks and included how to load and unload guns, shoot using live bullets and launch small and medium-sized rockets. Boys reported being forced to watch videos of beheadings several times. When they refused, they were severely beaten. A child was told: “this is your initiation into jihad, you have to be strong, because you will do this when you will go to jihad for the Islamic State; you are an Islamic State boy now.”

  3. Numerous other incidents reported by reliable sources require further investigation. For instance, residents of Fallujah (Anbar governorate) and Mosul (Ninewa governorate) reported that children in their late teens man checkpoints for ISIL. Other allegations indicate that children as young as 12 or 13 undergo military training with ISIL in Mosul. In areas it controls in Iraq and Syria, ISIL has allegedly established centres for military and religious training of children in an effort to indoctrinate them and build a new generation of fighters. An ISIL video portrays one such camp near Mosul, referring to the children as the “cubs of the caliphate.” Children are shown exercising and reciting the Holy Quran, while an instructor explains that they are being trained to fight “hate-filled Shi’a.” It is unclear how many children received such training and how many are actively engaged in hostilities.

5. Use of prohibited weapons

  1. Allegations of use of chlorine gas by members of ISIL were reported. The use of chlorine gas as a chemical weapon is prohibited in all circumstances. It was alleged that chemical agents, likely chlorine, were used on 22 September 2014 when ISIL attacked and killed 300 Iraqi soldiers in Anbar. Officials from Balad and Dulu’iya in Salah ad-Din governorate have alleged that ISIL used bombs with chlorine-filled cylinders during clashes in late September 2014. These allegations require further investigation.

6. Other human rights violations in ISIL-controlled areas

  1. The mission documented other serious human rights violations committed by ISIL in areas under its de facto control. They include unfair trials, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and extrajudicial killings.

  2. ISIL-established sharia courts in Mosul allegedly sentence people to such cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as stoning and amputation. Two men accused of homosexuality were convicted by an ISIL ‘court’ and thrown from the top of a tall building. Four physicians were reportedly executed after refusing to treat ISIL fighters. Thirteen teenage boys were sentenced to death for watching a football match. In January, a document attributed to ISIL showed two men being ‘crucified’ after they were accused of banditry. Other ISIL-attributed documents revealed that in al-Qaim, Anbar governorate, an ISIL soldier’s hand was cut off for theft. Due to lack of access to ISIL-controlled areas, and the complete breakdown of telecommunications in Mosul, it was not possible for the mission to follow up these cases.

B. Violations Perpetrated by Other Parties to the Conflict

  1. The mission gathered information from multiple credible sources highlighting alleged violations of international humanitarian and violations and abuses of human rights law by ISF and associated armed groups in their counter-terrorism efforts to defeat ISIL.

51. It is reasonable to conclude that these forces carried out extrajudicial killings, torture, abductions and forcibly displaced a large number of people, often with impunity. Additional information is needed to establish the link between some militia forces and the Government. The Government, however, has the obligation to exercise due diligence in protecting persons under its jurisdiction. Since the fall of Mosul, different armed groups have become an integral component of the Government’s response to ISIL, with the line between regular and irregular pro-Government forces, and particularly between ‘Popular Mobilisation’ volunteers18 and militia increasingly blurred. As such, the mission was not always able to clearly determine which group was directly involved in reported incidents, or identify the chain of command. A number of victims interviewed by the mission stressed that militia groups are in de-facto command over regular forces. Such claims could not be independently verified.

1. Extrajudicial killings, abductions and torture

52. Between June and August 2014, a series of attacks occurred in Diyala governorate when militia, at times jointly with ISF, waged a retaliatory campaign against members of the Sunni community. Numerous victims and witnesses described a number of incidents in the villages of Baquba, Imam Weis and Sinsil, which they alleged, all specifically targeted Sunnis. In mid-June, fleeing armed forces allegedly set fire to an army base in Sinsil, where 53 Sunnis were held. Witnesses discovered their bodies: some were charred beyond recognition; others were only partially burnt, revealing gunshot wounds, severe bruises and broken limbs.19

53. On 16 June, at least 43 prisoners from the al-Wahda police station in Baquba were allegedly summarily executed by gunshots to the head. Some victims had broken limbs, suggesting torture.20

54. On 22 August, militia members and Iraqi police allegedly carried out two consecutive attacks against the Mus’ab Ibn ‘Umair mosque in Imam Weis village killing 34 civilians including a woman, and a 17-year-old boy, who were attending Friday prayers. An investigation has been launched; findings are yet to be made public.

55. The mission received multiple allegations that members of militia and ISF executed at least 70 Sunni civilians in different locations in Barwana, Diyala governorate, on 26 January 2015. The bodies were reportedly removed to an unknown location, and victims’ families were unable to retrieve them. Other civilians arrested on the same day allegedly remain unaccounted for. The Government has announced an investigation.

56. Attacks allegedly perpetrated by militia affiliated to ISF were reported in Baghdad, Baquba, Kirkuk, Mosul, Samarra, and Tel Afar, allegedly in revenge for attacks by ISIL. The mission could not independently verify these incidents, which require further investigation.

57. Against the background of attacks against Sunni villages in Salah ad-Din and Diyala governorates, numerous witnesses reported incidents involving illegal arrests and the taking of hostages. They allegedly occurred in al-Hatimiya, Baquba, Dujail, Tuz Khormato and Yathrib. Some families said they secured the release of loved ones by paying ransoms.

58. In August and September 2014, as ISF and affiliated militia moved against ISIL in Yathrib, Salah ad-Din governorate, Sunni men from the area were allegedly systematically arrested in the village of Jami’iya and at checkpoints in al-Hatimiya and Dujail. Victims provided consistent accounts of being ordered to hand over mobile phones, valuables and identity documents. They were blindfolded, handcuffed and taken to al-Bakr (Balad) airbase in Salah ad-Din governorate, where they were tortured or ill-treated for several days while being interrogated about ISIL forces and their positions in the region.

59. On the night of 8-9 August 2014, a militia stationed at the Youth Sports Club in Tuz Khormato town in Salah ad-Din governorate abducted up to seven Sunnis from their houses. One was brutally beaten, tortured and killed,21 while the fate of the others remains unknown. The mission received multiple reports that militia groups are running detention facilities at al-Bakr airbase, Salah ad-Din, where routine torture is allegedly undertaken. On 25 October 2014, for example, two Sunnis were taken from the Brigade 17 checkpoint in Dujail to al-Bakr airbase. They were handcuffed, blindfolded and tortured for five days by beatings, kicks and electric shocks. Up to 40 men allegedly shared a cell with them and suffered the same treatment. One of their captors allegedly urged them daily to convert to Shi’a Islam. On 11 December a Sunni man was abducted at al-Hatimiya checkpoint by fighters22 and was taken to al-Bakr airbase where he was held and tortured for four days. He was released once his family paid 6,000 US dollars in ransom.

60. The mission gathered information from a number of victims and witnesses about an attack on 25 January 2015 against Sunni Arabs in al-Sibaya and al-Jeri villages, north of Sinjar. Based on evidence gathered, it may be reasonable to conclude that this attack was perpetrated by a Yezidi armed group. Twenty-two people were allegedly shot dead including women, children and elderly; several others were injured. At least six bodies were burnt in their homes after being shot. Several houses were allegedly burnt, properties were looted, and villagers were allegedly ordered to hand over valuables. Witnesses reported that 17 people were abducted; their whereabouts remain unknown. Inhabitants of both villages were displaced. 

61. These allegations could not be thoroughly investigated by the mission and warrant further investigation.

2. Forced displacement and preventing access to safe areas

62. Multiple accounts indicate that militia conducted operations targeting Sunni in Salah ad Din and Diyala resulting in forced displacement. During a September 2014 operation in al-Jami’iya, Salah ad-Din, witnesses reported that militia members forced Sunni civilians from their homes at gunpoint, beat them and shouted “you are all ISIL, you are against Islam.” One victim recounted that militiamen entered his house, smashed furniture and stole large amounts of money and gold. He was told to leave and never return; his home and car were torched. The mission received similar reports of house destruction and burnings in villages in Yathrib, Salah ad-Din governorate. Victims told the mission that militia prevented Sunnis from returning to their villages.

63. The mission also interviewed victims from dozens of Sunni villages in Amerli and Suleiman Bek, Salah ad-Din governorate, who reported a similar pattern of looting and destruction after the siege of Amerli was broken. As one witness recounted, “we hoped for the best when the Iraqi army and the ‘volunteers’ liberated the area from ISIL. Instead, once the ‘volunteers’ took control, they pillaged, burnt and blew up houses, claiming that all villagers are part of ISIL. This is not true; we are just ordinary poor people.”

64. While more information is needed on the link between the militia and the Government, these incidents point, at the very least, to a failure by the Government to protect persons under its jurisdiction.

65. According to interviews conducted with victims and witnesses, it is reasonable to conclude that Iraqis were deprived of their fundamental rights to safety and security. In November, members of the Sunni community leaving from villages taken over by ISIL in Yathrib, Salah ad-Din, were allegedly blocked for several days at Makthab Khalid checkpoint in Kirkuk governorate. The checkpoint, manned by forces under the control of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), was the main entry point for those who wanted to reach safety in Kirkuk city or Suleimaniyah governorate. Some interviewees waited at the checkpoint for 15 days, sleeping in the street in the bitter cold. Many witnessed children dying of cold while their families waited to be allowed through.

66. Numerous other incidents reported by reliable sources could not be verified by the mission and require further investigation. For instance, it was reported that Shi’a Turkmen who fled the conflict in Tel Afar were stranded at checkpoints operated by armed forces under the control of KRG.



3. Indiscriminate attacks

67. The mission received a number of reports alleging indiscriminate attacks against civilians. While it was unable to determine the intended target of these attacks, it established that they often caused civilian deaths and injuries, raising the possibility of a lack of precautionary measures to protect civilians.

68. On 29 November, for example, in Zour, Salah ad-Din governorate, a helicopter hit a car with two rockets, killing one person and injuring seven. On the same day, another Iraqi helicopter hit a house in the same area, killing at least 17 people, including five children.

69. Numerous other incidents reported by reliable sources could not be independently verified by the mission and require further investigation. For instance, the use of barrel bombs by ISF was widely alleged. This low accuracy weapon – if used in residential areas – would likely lead to indiscriminate attacks.



C. Mass Graves

70. As State forces have retaken some ISIL-controlled areas, mass graves have been discovered. The KRG Committee on Mass Graves informed the mission that seven mass graves were discovered in Hardan, Khanasor, Sinone, Zummar. Four mass graves were also discovered in Khanaqin, Diyala. A further 12 mass graves are reportedly located in areas that remain under ISIL control.

71. Although some measures have been put in place to protect mass graves and prevent attempts to exhume the bodies, more needs to be done in order to make sure that the dead can be identified and the cause of death determined.

III. Legal responsibility

A. States’ legal responsibility

72. Information gathered by the mission strongly suggests that international crimes may have been perpetrated and continue to be perpetrated in Iraq by ISIL. The primary legal responsibility in addressing these international crimes lies with the State of Iraq whose duty it is to protect persons under its jurisdiction and ensure accountability.

73. All States are required to determine how to implement their obligations to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, especially in the framework of their obligation to investigate and prosecute allegations of war crimes and genocide. The Government of Iraq has a duty to investigate all allegations, which concern ISIL, ISF and affiliated armed groups, as well as other armed militias and to prosecute perpetrators, including responsible commanders and other superiors.

74. Information gathered by the mission suggests that some militia groups may enjoy de-facto command over regular forces. If true, it is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that all organised armed forces, groups and units are placed under a command responsible for the conduct of its subordinates.

75. In light of the violations perpetrated by parties to the armed conflict in Iraq, other States who lend support to the various parties to the conflict need to determine whether such support is compatible with their obligations under international law.

B. Individual criminal responsibility

76. The following crimes may have been committed.



  • Genocide by killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm and forced transfer of children, as part of a manifest pattern of similar conduct aimed at the destruction of that group. Information gathered strongly suggests that ISIL may have perpetrated these crimes against the Yezidi population.

  • Crimes against humanity such as murder, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence and persecution, committed as part of widespread and systematic attacks directed against civilian populations pursuant to, or in furtherance of an organisational policy to commit such attacks. Information strongly suggests that ISIL has perpetrated some of these crimes against Christian, Shi’a and Yezidi communities.

  • War crimes of murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture, outrages upon personal dignity, the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, directing attacks against the civilian population, directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, historic monuments, pillaging a town or place, committing rape, sexual slavery, and any other form of sexual violence, conscripting or enlisting children or using them to participate actively in hostilities, ordering the displacement of the civilian population, destroying or seizing the property of an adversary. Information gathered points to ISIL having perpetrated such crimes.

  • Information gathered demonstrates that ISF and affiliated militia may have committed some war crimes.

IV. Conclusion and Recommendations

77. I am impressed by the vast number of credible witnesses and victims who, despite severe trauma and in some cases at considerable risk to their personal safety and security, bravely spoke out about the violations perpetrated to ensure that they are documented with the aim that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. I salute their courage.



78. Subject to a determination by an independent and competent court, this report concludes that :

  • Members of ISIL may have perpetrated genocide against the Yezidi community by killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm and forcibly transferring members of the group, including children, in the context of a manifest pattern of conduct aimed at the destruction of the group.

  • Members of ISIL may have committed crimes against humanity by perpetrating: murder, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of population, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence and persecution, committed as part of widespread or systematic attacks directed against civilian populations pursuant to or in furtherance of an organisational policy to commit such attacks.

  • Members of ISIL may have committed war crimes by perpetrating: murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture, outrages upon personal dignity, taking of hostages, the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, directing attacks against the civilian population, directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, historic monuments, pillaging a town or place, committing rape, sexual slavery, and other forms of sexual violence, conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years or using them to participate actively in hostilities, ordering the displacement of the civilian population, destroying or seizing the property of an adversary.

  • ISIL is perpetrating serious human rights violations in areas which are under its de facto control; including torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and extrajudicial killings.

  • While more information is needed on the link between the militia and the Government, some incidents addressed in the report point, at the very least, to a failure on part of the Government to exercise due diligence as regards its obligation to protect persons under its jurisdiction. Member of ISF and affiliated armed groups may have committed war crimes by perpetrating: murder, cruel treatment and torture, taking of hostages, directing attacks against the civilian population, pillaging a town or place, ordering the displacement of the civilian population, destroying or seizing the property of an adversary.

79. In order to ensure justice for all Iraq’s victims of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, and in light of the on-going armed conflict, I recommend the following:

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