SUBSCRIBE NOW

SIGHT

Be informed. Be challenged. Be inspired.

UP TO 1,500 YAZIDI AND CHRISTIAN IRAQIS MAY HAVE BEEN FORCED INTO SEX SLAVERY, SAYS UN

14th August, 2014

Up to 1,500 Yazidi and Christians in Iraq may have been forced into sexual slavery, UN representatives said this week.

Zainab Hawa Bangura, special representative of the UN secretary-seneral on sexual violence in conflict, and Nickolay Mladenov, special representative of the secretary-general for Iraq, said in a joint statement they were "gravely concerned by continued reports of acts of violence, including sexual violence against women and teenage girls and boys belonging to Iraqi minorities".

“Atrocious accounts on the abduction and detention of Yazidi, Christian, as well as Turkomen and Shabak women, girls and boys, and reports of savage rapes, are reaching us in an alarming manner”, the statement said, noting that some 1,500 Yazidi and Christian persons may have been forced into sexual slavery.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, the explicit targeting of women and children and the barbaric acts the “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” has perpetrated on minorities in areas under its control, and we remind all armed groups that acts of sexual violence are grave human rights violations that can be considered as war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Mr Mladenov called on regional governments and the wider international community for the immediate release of the women and girls held in captivity and for support for Iraqi Government efforts to protect its citizens.

Earlier this week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "profoundly dismayed" by barbaric acts of violence carried out by IS fighters. These have reportedly included summary executions including beheadings and crucifixions, the use of boys as child soldiers and the abduction and trafficking of girls as sex slaves.

Canon Andrew White, the "Vicar of Baghdad", told an Anglican news service last week that a boy he had christened several years ago had been "cut in half" during the IS attack on the town of Qaraqosh.

– DAVID ADAMS

Donate



sight plus logo

Sight+ is a new benefits program we’ve launched to reward people who have supported us with annual donations of $26 or more. To find out more about Sight+ and how you can support the work of Sight, head to our Sight+ page.

Musings

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

TAKE PART IN THE SIGHT READER SURVEY!

We’re interested to find out more about you, our readers, as we improve and expand our coverage and so we’re asking all of our readers to take this survey (it’ll only take a couple of minutes).

To take part in the survey, simply follow this link…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.