Yazidi survivors appeal to UN over ISIS crimes
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A group of five Yazidi women are appealing to the UN to press their cases against the Australian government. They are asking for compensation for crimes committed by an Australian ISIS member, The Guardian reports.
The five Yazidis, who hail from the Sinjar (Shengal) region in northern Iraq, were captured by the radical group during their assault on the region in 2014, which has been classified as a genocide.
They were held as slaves and tortured by Australian-born ISIS member Khaled Sharrouf, among others. Sharrouf is thought to have been killed in a Coalition airstrike in 2017.
ISIS member Khaled Sharrouf – The Guardian
Australia’s high court struck down the women’s appeal in 2021. They had asked the Australian state of New South Wales, Sharrouf’s last known place of residence, for material compensation under its Victims Rights and Support Act.
The five survivors are now appealing to the UN’s Committee Against Torture to support them in their legal case against Australia.
One of the lawyers involved in the case said the appeal to the UN was supposed to “end the impunity of Western governments”.
“The legal framework as it stands seems incapable of delivering, so this application is intended to fill that gap and seek to recognise the responsibility of a state like Australia to ensure that justice is done for the victims,” the lawyer said.
“The world condemned this movement [ISIS] and continues to condemn it, but then doesn’t try to support the victims in any way.”