Reaching a Nuremberg Moment

Mariana Memeri
Photo: Reuters
La Jornada Maya

Thursday, October 31, 2019

“Our memory reaches back through recorded history. The book of memory still lies open. And we are now at a historical moment that holds the pen. If bringing IS to justice succeeds, we will judge perpetrators. And we will warn off any who wishes to follow their example.”

Nadia Murad was nineteen when the Islamic State fighters arrived in her village in northern Iraq and killed six hundred people, including six members of Nadia’s family. Murad and other young women were taken as slaves. She was repeatedly beaten, tortured and raped. Unlike some of the other women Nadia did not kill herself, although she often hoped that one of her captors would do it for her. Over the following three months, she was owned by a succession of Islamic State’s militants until November of 2014 when one of them left the door unlocked and she managed to escape.

Nadia is a member of the Yazidi people, an indigenous minority in northwestern region of Iraq. They live in what is now the area surrounding Shingal Mountain and the Shekhan District. The Yazidis are one of the oldest ethnic and religious communities in the Middle East and have a population of approximately 550 thousand to 600 thousand.

The Yazidis are followers of an ancient religion that has its roots in Mesopotamia. They are monotheistic and worship the archangel Melek Taus popularly known as peacock angel. This peacock angel resembles the Islamic demon Shaytan (Satan). This resemblance is what has made the Yazidi victims of the IS campaign to rid Iraq of anything non-muslim with their ‘Holy War.’

In 2014, IS started an offensive attack on the Yazidis with their intention being to either convert them to Islam or to eradicate them (ethnically cleansing Iraq of all Yazidis). IS not only destroyed their homes and their fields, but also killed off most of the men, then mutilated, raped and enslaved women and girls who were then sold as sex slaves. They destroyed all schools and hospitals and the Yazidis were forced to choose between renouncing their faith or facing death. The attacks perpetrated by IS since the summer of 2014, constitute genocide. The Shingal Mountain has been left uninhabitable and the Yazidi community is on the verge of collapse with more than 3 thousand Yazidi women missing and held captive by IS and 300 thousand living in concentration camps.

After Nadia escaped she fled to a refugee camp. In time she was accepted as a refugee in Germany and began her mission as an activist of raising awareness of the genocide committed against the Yazidis and in general of the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in armed conflict. In 2016 with the aid of world famous international lawyer Amal Clooney she began her campaign to bring IS to justice in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. In 2018 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to eradicate the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in armed conflict. Today they continue to fight for this cause.

Progress has been slow and although some advances have been made, the international response to the problem of the use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war has been disappointing. In April 2019, Amal Clooney gave a speech to the United Nations Security Council in which she told the UN that they were at a “Nuremberg moment” and it was their “chance to stand on the right side of history.” The speech was given on the occasion of the adoption of Security Council resolution 2467 (2019) which calls for “the complete cessation with immediate effect by all parties in armed conflict of all acts of sexual violence.” The resolution was approved by all members of the Security Council except Russia and China, who abstained, and the United States who opposed the resolution, citing concerns that the wording implicitly condones abortion.

Clooney condemned the position of Russia and the United States accusing them of failure to bring the perpetrators of genocide and rape as a weapon of war to justice.

August 3rd marked the fifth anniversary of the Yazidi genocide. Five years later, still many of the mass graves that hold Yazidi victims have not been examined and thousands of victims have yet to be identified. If the international court would bring IS to trial and sentence them with crimes against humanity for their atrocities against the Yazidis women and girls, this would legitimize the effectiveness of our international institutions such as International Criminal Court (ICC), the UN, and UN Women among others, to bring justice to the victims. We are at a historical moment that will test the power of these international organizations and if this resolution fails, the credibility of said institutions will be under scrutiny.

Amal Clooney’s references to Nuremberg and the prosecution of top Nazis officials is a reminder that bringing the perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity is a question of political will. This will can be manifested as is evident with the historical international tribunals for genocide committed in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. However, the international community seems to be falling apart with many countries not interested in participating in the ICC. And the US not only does not participate in the ICC, but also is in constant opposition to its efforts. Too many countries are turning a blind eye to bringing justice to these women and, as long as the political will is lacking among the major players of the world stage, the weaponization of rape and sexual violence is destined to be repeated. Women and girls, such as in the case of Nadia and the Yazidis, will continue to suffer terrible atrocities and their perpetrators will enjoy impunity.

At this point in 2019 the interests of the international community seem to be focused on internal economic problems and populist policies. We are in a crisis of dehumanization that constitutes a setback to the advances of the postwar era. Complacency of world leaders towards gender violence is completely unacceptable. Justice and humanity should be the cornerstone of what unites us and governments and the international community have the responsibility to stabilize the region. Otherwise, what is the message we are sending to women suffering from violence and massive violations of human rights?

It seems surprising that in this modern age we have to recommit ourselves to gender equality, but we do. In the face of isolationism, protectionism, and racism, the simple act of kindness and looking beyond ourselves, might just be as good a starting point as any. If the institutions that have served us well in times of need would do so again, we could rise to a new Nuremberg Moment. Deeming sexual violence as a weapon of war and prosecuting IS for war crimes against women and girls, will establish a successful example of justice, unity and humanity for future generations.

[i]Mérida, Yucatán[/i]
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