UNITAD Archive Delivered to the United Nations Secretariat

On 28 August 2024, the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL, led by Acting Special Adviser and Head of UNITAD Ms. Ana Peyró Llopis, delivered its archive to the United Nations Secretariat. This archive totals 52.62 terabytes of material collected from a diverse range of sources, including from the Iraqi authorities and other information providers, as well as work products originally produced by the Team. A copy of both original and processed versions of the materials are included in the archive.

The Team has delivered a significant amount of materials from this archive to the relevant Iraqi authorities as part of its mandate in line with Security Council resolutions 2379 (2017)PDF and 2697 (2023), as well as its Terms of Reference (S/2018/118PDF, Annex) and the Report of the Secretary General (S/2024/20PDF). In August 2024, the Team delivered a structured version of these materials, enriched by UNITAD through categorization and tagging and organized in a manner that facilitates the rapid identification of information relevant to investigations for accountability purposes. Original, unaltered versions of these materials were returned for preservation purposes in March, June and July 2024. Materials from open sources, collected by the Team to support its investigations, have been delivered as well. The Team has already delivered twelve (12) case assessments and analytical reports focused on acts by ISIL (Da’esh) that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide as well as underlying witness interviews originally collected by UNITAD in the field, and forensic reports and other forensic work products. At least seven (7) additional case assessments and analytical reports are planned for delivery to the Iraqi authorities prior to closure on 17 September 2024. These materials are being delivered in line with UNITAD’s Terms of Reference which underline, among others, that the Team “obtain from witnesses and other sources their informed consent for the Investigative Team to share evidence with Iraqi and other domestic investigative, prosecutorial and judicial authorities”.

The archive delivered to the United Nations Secretariat contains a copy of the materials delivered to the Iraqi authorities, which will be kept by the United Nations as part of its records and archives, together with other materials originally collected by the Team. These other materials, which will be stored with the United Nations, include witness interviews; screening notes taken by investigative units during their engagement with impacted communities and other relevant individuals; other work products produced by the Team, such as forensic, investigative and analytical reports; and materials from third States, intergovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, and individuals.

The Acting Special Adviser noted that “the delivery of a comprehensive and structured archive is an important achievement for accountability purposes. The processed version of UNITAD’s archive has supported the investigative work of the Team and facilitated the provision of assistance for investigations in Iraq and for prosecutions in third States. This powerful tool must continue to be used to advance ISIL (Da’esh) accountability efforts in Iraq and globally”.

Following the delivery of the archive, the Acting Special Adviser updated United Nations Security Council members at the expert level on the implementation of mandated activities by the Team and the progress being made in its drawdown and liquidation since the final mandated reportPDF and briefing to the United Nations Security Council in June.