Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Camp Speicher Massacre UNITAD hands over to the Iraqi Judiciary a Milestone Report on ISIL’s crimes in and Around the Tikrit Presidential Palace Complex

Acting Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD, Ana Peyro Llopis, handed over the report alongside the package of underlying evidence referenced in the report to H.E. Chief Justice Faiq Zaidan, President of the Supreme Judicial Council at his office in Baghdad. This includes evidence originally collected and produced by the Team.

The report, titled “Camp Speicher: A Pattern of Mass Killing and Genocidal Intent-Legal Assessment of ISIL’s crimes in and around the Tikrit Presidential Palace Complex” presents factual and preliminary legal findings on the massacre at the Tikrit Presidential Palaces Complex in Salah al-Din province, where some 1700 soldiers, cadets and volunteers, escaping from the Tikrit Air Academy (known as Camp Speicher), were mass-killed between 12 and at least 14 June 2014.

“The factual findings presented in the report, preliminary legal assessment of the crimes committed, as well as the provided underlying evidence can contribute to the Iraqi judiciary’s efforts to advance accountability for the range of  heinous international crime committed by ISIL (Da’esh) in this massacre,” said Acting Special Adviser Peyro Llopis, adding: “the report concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the killing operation at the Presidential Palace Complex was undertaken with genocidal intent in the context of an ISIL genocidal policy against Shi’as in Iraq”. She also referred to the continuous and outstanding support of the Iraqi judiciary, competent Iraqi authorities and the families of the victims to UNITAD dedicated Field Investigative Unit over the past years.

A public version of the report will be published as part of commemorating the tenth anniversary of Camp Speicher Massacre, to publicize more broadly the legal findings established by UNITAD. This comes in support of the quest by the families and relatives of the victims in their pursuit of justice and accountability.

The handover of this report come as UNITAD prepares for the conclusion of the Team’s mandate in September, in line with its mandate and Terms of Reference, and in accordance with the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of resolution 2697 (2023).