Holding ISIL Accountable: Prosecuting Crimes in Iraq and Syria
Author(s):
In the aftermath of the collapse of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s self-declared “caliphate,” the international community has grappled with the question of how to achieve accountability for crimes committed by the armed group. While prosecutions of captured ISIL fighters and other ISIL-affiliated individuals are occurring, they have to date overwhelmingly focused on terrorism-related offences without addressing core international crimes–including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes–that may have been perpetrated by these individuals. Many prosecutions fall short of true accountability for the full dimensions of ISIL crimes and the totality of harm done to victims and survivors.