Nadia speaks out: Call for slavery in Iraq to be prosecuted
From Eugenia Afonso, Walk Free
“We, the women and children, were taken by bus from the school to another area. They humiliated us along the way and touched us in a shameful way.”[1]
This month marks two years since the start of the ruthless attack on the Yazidi population in Iraq by ISIS forces. Nadia Murad survived the massacre and mass enslavement. Now, she is determined that the perpetrators be brought to justice. With immense courage, she has been publicly sharing her personal experience – and has even spoken at the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council has the power to refer the crimes perpetrated against the Yazidi population to the ICC. In Nadia’s words: “this is not just about my suffering; it is about collective suffering…even men who agreed to become Muslims out of fear for their lives, were killed, their women enslaved and their children recruited.” This is why we are asking the UN to help bring justice to the thousands of victims of modern slavery in Iraq. Watch Nadia tell her story and sign the petition.
In hope and remembrance,
Eugenia, Kat, Zoe and the Walk Free team
Thousands of women and children in Iraq are being forced into marriage and sexual slavery by members of ISIS.1
Slavery is such a significant part of ISIS’s agenda that the group has published a pamphlet on the subject, which includes instructions such as, “It is permissible to buy, sell, or give as a gift female captives and slaves, for they are merely property, which can be disposed of.”2
Khandhar Kaliph’s daughter is one of the women who have been captured. “She said she is going to be sold as a slave […] for $10. What can a father say to that? How can I help? We all feel so useless.”3 Khandhar has been despairing over the safety of his daughter ever since.
One thing you can do right now is help secure justice for Khandhar’s daughter and others like her. On March 2015, the OHCHR released a report on ISIS’ crimes in Iraq, and one of the recommendations was for the situation to be referred to the International Criminal Court. This is important progress, and we need to keep the pressure on until the Security Council takes action4. Call on Members of the UN Security Council to refer this situation to the International Criminal Court.
Credit: BBC HARDtalk
Watch video and sign petition at: https://www.walkfree.org/iraq-slavery-icc/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=iraq-slavery-icc&utm_content=Iraq-Isis_Petition_Chaser_EN_Active_NATs_25Aug16
