Members of Iraq's Yazidi minority [5] on Sept. 24 submitted a report [6] to the International Criminal Court [7] detailing the crimes committed against their community by militants of the Islamic State (IS) and urged the court to open an investigation. The Yazidi group met with chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in The Hague and said the actions taken by IS since August 2014 in Northern Iraq constituted religious genocide against their people. The report includes statements made by human rights organizations which have concluded that IS targets Yazidi people on religious grounds and the UN statement [8] that IS attacks on the Yazidi group may amount to genocide. Former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said [9] the court should open preliminary examinations. Although Iraq is not a party to the ICC Rome Statute (PDF [10]), the court could prosecute IS members who are nationals of signatory states.
From Jurist [11], Sept. 26. Used with permission.
