"ISIS and the Christians in Iraq: a Case Of
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1 Name of Organization in : Syriac منظمة )شلومو( للتوثيق Name of Organization in : Arabic Name of Organization in : Kurdish Name of Organization in : English Shlomo Organization for Documentation (SOD) Shlomo Organization for Documentation is an independent, non-profit, civil organization that provides services to all citizens without discrimination, and seeks to create a community awareness of the concepts of human rights through the definition of these concepts and the response to all cases of violations through monitoring, documentation and raising awareness of the community about their rights and how to press for protection, promotion, and respect of human rights, and develop visions to avoid the occurrence of violations, to make early warnings before they occur, and to protect individuals whose rights are violated. In addition, the organization addresses the legislations and laws that violate the rights of individuals and groups, and it works to amend or repeal legislation that does not meet the standards of international human rights and to act on proposing draft laws to protect, promote and respect the rights of individuals and groups in general through campaigns of advocating and defending human rights issues by adopting all peaceful means and working to support individuals whose rights are violated, and to continue to protect them and prevent subsequent violations. The organization has followed-up, monitored and documented the crimes committed against Christians by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) since 2003, in particular after occupying their territories on 9/6/2014, with the aim of submitting the documents to the national and international specialized authorities in order to rehabilitate, compensate and protect the victims, and hold the criminals accountable and prevent the recurrence of such crimes, which amount to a genocide. 2 The organization has communicated with many international organizations dealing with human rights and genocide in order to convey what was documented to the relevant national and international bodies, including In Defense of Christians (IDC), Organization for the Defense of European Religions (ADF International), the Knights of Columbus, the Genocide Monitoring Center in Washington DC, International Association of Genocide Scholars, the International Association of Lawyers, and other local organizations and related parties. Shlomo Organization for Documentation has also held several conferences in Erbil, Geneva and Brussels and several activities and workshops to promote the concept of genocide and human rights, such as the workshop that was held in collaboration with the World Association of Gynecologists, the Genocide Monitoring Center in Washington DC, the International Association of Lawyers in Belgium and the University of Philadelphia on 13-14 January 2017 at the Catholic University in Ankawa, Erbil. The presenters included: - Professor Gregory Stanton, head of the Genocide Monitoring Center in Washington DC. 3. Professor Elisa Yuden von Furkin, First Vice-President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and Professor at the University of Philadelphia, USA. 2. Doctor and jurist Irina Victoria Massimino, Secretary of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and Professor at the University of Buenos Aires. 2. Legal expert Dr. Jan Vermon, Secretary-General of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers from Belgium. 3 in addition to the participation of more than 100 people who were involved in the issues of human rights and genocide of minorities, including the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people. The lecturers discussed many of the experiences of peoples throughout history with regard to the concept of genocide and consideration of the magnitude of the suffering and tragedy suffered by the people of small components who have been subjected to genocide, such as the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people, the Yazidis, the Shabak, and the other components in Sinjar and Nineveh Plain. The discussions also involved the mechanisms for writing reports on genocide and how to activate this case for delivery to a competent national court or the International Criminal Court. Furthermore, the members of SOD had active participation in many workshops and activities organized by international and local organizations. SOD began its activities on 12 January 2016 by monitoring and documenting violations and crimes committed against Christians Assyrian Chaldean Assyrians and Armenians in their areas of residence in Mosul, Nineveh Plain, Sinjar (Shangal) and other areas in Iraq by ISIS through its field teams that have traveled to many areas where displaced Christian citizens have lived including camps, rented premises, caravans, unfinished buildings, etc., in order to keep a close eye on the scale of violations and crimes committed against them. The results of the work carried out in monitoring and documenting violations for the period starting from 21/1/2016 to 30/4/2017 has reached 11,584 families, which is about 50% of the total number of displaced Christian citizens. This field survey included the camps in Erbil (City Center, Ozal City, Cihan Complex and Darwazah Complex), Town of Ankawa (Town Center, 108 District, Karimles Complex, Ashti 1 Camp, Ashti 2 Camp, Al-Amal Complex and Al-Karma Complex) The survey also included the State of Lebanon and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and several campaigns in the areas of the presence of displaced people in the Federal Republic of Germany (and the work is still in progress). In addition, SOD has designed the forms that document the violations and posted them on the organization's website to be accessible to citizens whose rights have been violated by ISIS or other terrorist groups for the purpose of registering, documenting and sending them electronically to the organization through its website (www.shlomoo.org). 4 During the monitoring and documentation of the field teams, we found the following: 1 - There was a heavy turnout by the IDPs to testify about their sufferings, which are considered flagrant violations to international standards of human rights. 2 - Most of the testimonies confirm that what they have been subjected to was a continuation of what they were exposed to from April 2003 to the fall of Mosul in June 2014, because these events are regarded as interrelated and systematic series to lead them to a genocide and to uproot them from their historical lands for the first time in history. 3. Many of them brought with them documents that would prove the violations they had suffered through the official papers and CDs they had given to courts and police. 4 - Most of those who gave their testimonies have submitted individual testimonies in addition to the forms provided by SOD. 5. The IDPs suffered from psychological disorders due to the blatant violations, sad stories, and shocking events. 6. Most of the IDPs have been afflicted with hopelessness and unknown future, and do not know whether to stay or emigrate, in addition to the feeling that they have been left alone in this world to meet their inevitable fate. 7 – There is a collective demand to accelerate the liberation of their areas and to ensure their return with the condition of providing international protection to ensure their future. 8 – There is need to provide relief aid to the IDPs and compensate them for the material losses including thousands of houses, machinery, and industrial, commercial, agricultural and professional projects in addition to the full seizure of their belongings, such as gold and money, especially during their displacement and escape to the Kurdistan Region. 5 The following are some of the information that the organization has learned during monitoring and documenting violations: 1 - The number of testimonies that have been listened to by the field teams of the organization of documentation until the preparation of this report is 11584 families, that is more than 32814 (thirty-two thousand eight hundred and fourteen) testimonies, not to mention those of 16-year-olds. The testimonies were often presented by the head of the family and his wife, a father and his son, or a mother with her son or daughter on behalf of the family or in the presence of the whole family. This required a lot of listening, time and effort in documenting all the criminal acts that they were exposed to. 2 – Most of the fugitives from ISIS are from Mosul, especially Nineveh plain, that is about 95% of them, but there are also many who have submitted documents of the violations they have gone through in other provinces such as the capital Baghdad, Basra, Diyala and other governorates. 3 - The process of annihilation of the Christians took the course of an organized chase by killing them on identity, abducting them or taking them as captives in the areas where they inhabited. Even when some or all of the family members escaped, they would be chased by those terrorist groups in the provinces to which they resorted. For example, 650 families from the Nineveh governorate were part of a mass annihilation after being displaced to the Nineveh Plain the first time but were later chased by ISIS to receive the same inevitable destiny. 6 4- A total of 11584 families were documented with identification documents, in addition to identifying the methods of contacting them when needed or inquiring about any information. The families were distributed as shown in Table (1): Governorate or Documented violations town individuals families Mosul 8207 8181 Baghadad 8802 220