The recent Syrian and Iraqi armed conflicts left hundreds of thousand victims and survivors of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), from different ethnic and religious communities, including women and children from the Yazidi community. Many of them suffered abuses such as forced displacement, sexual violence or summary executions of their families.
Fight for Humanity has partnered with Medico International to create a platform that will give a united voice to victims of ISIS in the region, notably in national and international discussions about the judicial process of the presumed 10,000 ISIS members detained in Syria. In these discussions, little attention has been paid to the right of victims to get reparation and their claims and expectations from the judicial process.
The project will develop a participatory process, with victims from different ethnicities and religions in areas affected by the armed conflict, through meetings and focus groups. This process will lead to the creation of a victims’ platform through which they can formulate and voice their expectations from the judicial process, at the local and international levels.
Through these activities, Fight for Humanity will also reinforce the capacity of victims to raise their voice in a collective manner and give them enough self-confidence to defend their rights. Special attention and a place will be given to female victims of sexual violence.
Fight for Humanity will also strengthen the knowledge of victims’ representatives, and related civilian organisations, about their rights and international judicial mechanisms, guarantees and processes.
Creating expectations, ideas and principles from the victims’ organisations and stakeholders is essential to the implementation of any judicial solution, whether it be trials in Iraq and Syria, the setting up of an international tribunal, cases brought to the International Criminal Court or trials in the countries of origin of foreign fighters/members. Only a fair and inclusive judicial process will guarantee a sustainable peace and social cohesion in the affected communities.