Five years ago today, on 12th June 2014, Da’esh/ISIL fighters captured and murdered at least 1,500 Iraqi Air Force cadets outside Tikrit Air Academy (formerly known as Camp Speicher). This brutal massacre against these unarmed cadets is one of many instances of ISIL’s disregard of the laws that bind humanity together. Those killed were overwhelmingly Shia Muslims. Today we pause to remember their lives, as we do on other days to remember those many members of the Christian, Yazidi, Sunni, Shia Turkmen, Kakai and all other communities who were targeted by Da’esh.
UNITAD’s words of respect and remembrance are combined with sincere efforts and actions. We are deploying our technical, legal and investigative resources pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution 2379 (2017), so that accountability is delivered for ISIL crimes which may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
Independent and credible investigations and fair trials are central to the delivery of meaningful justice for the victims of the crimes of ISIL, and their relatives. Such investigations and judicial proceedings are also essential to Iraq and humanity at large. We commend the Government of the Republic of Iraq for its ongoing cooperation and support of UNITAD and its mandate.
We will continue to conduct independent investigations in order to promote accountability here in Iraq and globally, so that the true nature and extent of ISIL criminality – and the responsibility of those that committed such acts - may be authoritatively and finally determined in fair and independent trials. The demands of justice require nothing less.