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<p>The UK welcomes the United Nations' 6 November report on Mass Graves, which underlines
the scale of the horrific crimes committed by Daesh against humanity. We agree with
the report's recommendations, including the pressing need for justice for victims
and their families. It is important that the Government of Iraq allocates sufficient
resource to this important task so that members of Daesh are held to account for their
actions. The report will inform the work of the UN Investigative Team for the Accountability
of Daesh in gathering evidence of Daesh crimes, for which the UK has provided £1 million
in funding. UK officials in Baghdad regularly raise with the Government of Iraq the
need to investigate missing persons and bring perpetrators to justice, but have not
directly made representations about the number of criminal judicial processes it is
engaged in nor about the planned timeline for exhumations. However, the UK and Iraq
co-hosted a conference on 14 November in The Hague in order to discuss next steps
on this agenda; attendees included UNITAD Special Adviser Karim Khan, the International
Committee of Missing Persons and the Iraqi Chief Justice. The report makes clear the
need to ensure that similar crimes are never committed again, and we are working closely
with the newly elected Government of Iraq to address the conditions that led to Daesh's
rise and ensure peace, stability and security for all Iraqis.</p>
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