"Platform of ISIS Victims".. efforts to document ISIS massacres and achieve justice

ISIS emerged from the womb of al-Qaeda at the hands of the leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in September 2003 under the name of the "Tawhid and Jihad Group" to fight the American forces in Iraq.

Nearly three years later, al-Zarqawi was killed on June 7, 2006, after which the establishment of the "Islamic State of Iraq" was announced, which at that time included 6 Iraqi provinces: "Baghdad, Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Nineveh and parts of the Babylon province."

With the intervention of the United States in Iraq in the spring of 2003, bombings began to hit the Iraqi regions, especially the Yezidi and Shiite areas, but the United States and the Iraqi army were unable to control the security situation.

'Entry into Syria'

With the start of the so-called Arab Spring and its transition to Syria, ISIS took advantage of the opportunity to enter the country, especially with the intervention of regional powers (Turkey and Qatar) and providing support to mercenary groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist groups.

On July 21, 2013, ISIS entered the city of Girê Spi for the first time in North and East Syria, and expelled all Kurds from it after blowing up dozens of houses, thus occupying the city, which has become the main crossing for Turkish support to ISIS.

By occupying it, the support route became open from Turkey to Iraqi territory, which allowed ISIS to attack other areas, especially since it controlled the desert roads in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor all the way to the Iraqi border.

On January 14, 2014, ISIS mercenaries took control of the city of Raqqa completely after the withdrawal of the Damascus government forces, so that ISIS took it as the "capital of the caliphate", and turned it into a "ghost city" as a result of its crimes and the terror that it instilled in its people.

'Crimes documented in numbers'

According to the response team in Raqqa, since its liberation in 2017 by the Syrian Democratic Forces, they have found (28) mass graves, most notably the tombs of "Tel Zeidan, Al-Tala'a, Fakhikha, Panorama, Al-Rasheed Stadium, Al-Maqs Roundabout", from which (6,100) bodies were exhumed. (700) of them were identified by their families, in addition to a number of houses in which the bodies of the people are located.

In August 2014, ISIS released a video clip showing the notorious beheader Muhammad Emwazi, nicknamed "Jihadist John", chillingly killing American journalist James Foley.

According to the Yazidi Women’s Freedom Office, on the first day of the attack on Shengal (August 3, 2014), ISIS killed (1,193) Yazidis and demolished 63 temples of the Yazidi religion, and that so far 80 mass graves of Yazidis have been found.

According to the Yazidi institutions, until the liberation of Shengal in 2015, the number of Yazidis kidnapped reached (6,417) people, including (3,548) women and (2,869) men, (1,201) women and (3,537) men were liberated, but the fate of (1,190) women is unknown until now.

On June 25, 2015, 80 armed mercenaries from ISIS attacked the neighborhoods of the city of Kobani and the village of Barkh Batan in its south, and committed a horrific massacre that killed 242 civilians, which was called the "Kobani Massacre".

There is a long talk about the massacres of ISIS and the atrocities of its actions, some of which have been documented, while another large part has not been documented, despite the destruction of its geographical control on March 23, 2019 in its last strongholds in the town of Al-Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, by the Syrian Democratic Forces after six weeks of intense fighting.

The threat of ISIS still exists, due to the spread of its sleeper cells in the area and al-Hol camp located 45 km east of Hasaka, in which approximately 60,000 people live, including 8,965 ISIS women (migrants) distributed among 2,625 families, most of whom are children.

To document the crimes of ISIS mercenaries in the regions of north and east Syria, the Human Rights Defense Initiative, sponsored by the German “International Medico” human rights organization, and the “Fight for Humanity Organization”, on May 27, established a platform for ISIS victims in North and East Syria.

'Objectives of the platform'

The Director of the Struggle for Humanity Organization, Muhammad Balji, explained that the idea of ​​the Platform of ISIS Victims is to support the victims, unite their voices and represent them at the national and international levels, in May 2019 during an international meeting on the arrest and trial of ISIS members.

He told our agency, "The process of creating this platform began in coordination with the Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria, and the idea of ​​the victims' participation in the possible judicial process against ISIS elements was born at the international conference in which the Autonomous Administration attended."

About this conference, Balji said, "The meeting was attended by the relevant United Nations agencies, international organizations, legal experts and diplomatic missions from several countries, including four permanent members of the UN Security Council."

While speaking about the goal of establishing the ISIS Victims Platform, he said: "The goal is to strengthen and facilitate that ISIS victims be part of any judicial process against ISIS members so that they can learn the truth and demand justice and compensation."

Stressing that "the platform will work in accordance with its founding document and its bylaws," he went on to explain that "it is made up of 13 members and a steering committee of 3 people from representatives of the Arab, Christian and Kurdish communities."

‘Activities of the platform’

On the platform’s work, Balji explained that “its members need to enhance their capabilities with regard to the fact-finding framework, international standards for evidence collection, and methodologies for documenting violations against the civilian population and property; on the one hand, this platform will also work to win advocate of regional and international actors to consolidate its issue, on the other hand, it will seek and mobilize support from other relevant actors.” He also noted that “the platform should also be organized at the regional level in North and East Syria,” noting that its goal now is to create at least 5 sub-platforms.

Balji indicated that victims in general expect justice and compensation, and above all else they need to be recognized as victims by local and international authorities, stressing, “there is a need to support the platform with advocacy work, in formulating such demands, and that they are ready to assist them in this matter."

'Participant states and organizations'

Regarding the countries and organizations participating in the platform, Balji said: “Currently, the platform has been established with the support of “International Medico and Fight for Humanity” organization, and we have reported to many countries and international organizations about its creation, and we are sure that there will be great interest and work with them, because this process must be led by those affected, and organizations representing victims.”

He explained that "the work of the platform is long-term, and the platform must be strengthened and efforts will be made to publicize it on the ground and among the victims, and some members of the platform will also be trained on documenting violations and war crimes, and we truly believe and hope that this platform will have an important role in building peace and facilitating reconciliation in northeastern Syria."

J.O

ANHA