ICC not to pursue a formal investigation into alleged war crimes by United Kingdom in Iraq
Shafaq News/ The High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq announced, on Thursday, that On December 9, 2020, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that after a six-year initial inquiry, it will not pursue a formal investigation into alleged war crimes by United Kingdom nationals in the context of the Iraq conflict and occupation between 2003 and 2008.
The Iraqi High Commission said that In a nearly 200-page report ICC found no clear evidence that UK forces were responsible for numerous war crimes in Iraq, including wilful killing or murder, torture and other serious abuses of detainees, and rape and other sexual violence.
The ICC prosecutor’s decision to close a preliminary examination of alleged war crimes by British forces in Iraq is likely to fuel the perception of a double standard in international justice, Human Rights Watch commented.
In the report, ICC office that it would not pursue a full investigation because it could not conclude that the UK authorities have been unwilling genuinely to carry out relevant investigative inquiries and/or prosecutions.
At the same time, it detailed some areas of concern related to the UK approach to addressing allegations of serious crimes.
The ICC prosecutor confirmed an earlier finding that there is a reasonable basis to believe that UK armed forces committed war crimes against detainees in Iraq. Though Iraq is not an ICC member, the court has jurisdiction over alleged serious crimes by the nationals of its member countries – in this case, UK nationals.
Between March 2003 and May 2009, British forces took part in the invasion, occupation, and governing of Iraq. During and after these six years, information emerged indicating widespread, serious abuses of Iraqis in British detention, including assaults, torture, and deaths. Many of the abuses, amounting to torture or other war crimes, were the result of broader systemic failures. Starting in 2004 – and continuing after UK forces left Iraq – Iraqis who alleged that British troops had unlawfully killed, detained, or abused them or their relatives pursued various legal remedies in the United Kingdom.
Under pressure, UK governments agreed to several public inquiries that found evidence of serious and repeated abuse of detainees in Iraq
