Religious Leaders Renew Commitment to Islamic State Victims in Iraq

05/25/2022 Iraq (International Christian Concern) – Religious leaders in Iraq renewed their commitment to supporting victims of the Islamic State and bringing accountability and justice for crimes committed against them. Religious leaders joined the United Nations Investigative Team to promote accountability for crimes committed by Islamic State in Iraq (UNITAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Second High-Level Conference on the Interfaith Statement on the Victims and Survivors of ISIL/Dae’sh.

Leaders of the Chaldean Catholic church joined a total of 40 other religious figures from Kakai, Shia, Sunni and Yazidi communities. A UN representative shared, “While we recognize that the government has the primary responsibility to protect populations, many actors, such as religious leaders who have a strong influence on the lives and behavior of those who follow their faith, shall play an important role in strengthening mutual respect in communities.”

The conference renewed the commitment to accountability to right the wrongs done to the most impacted religious communities and identified challenges faced by survivors of ISIL/Da’esh crimes, particularly those who have been subject to sexual and gender-based crimes.