Iraq: UN rights chief calls on US to preserve past abuse evidence at mass graves

The top United Nations human rights official today called on the United States and its coalition partners to ensure the immediate protection and integrity of mass grave sites in Iraq in order to preserve evidence of serious human rights violations committed by the ousted government.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said the reported interference with newly discovered mass graves in various locations in Iraq lent considerable urgency to this matter.

"[I am] concerned that evidence of past serious human rights violations in Iraq may be lost unless immediate measures are taken to ensure its preservation," Mr. Vieira de Mello said in a statement issued in Geneva.

As well as calling for action by the United States and its partners, he added: "Equally, appropriate access to these sites by independent forensic experts will be vital in preserving the integrity of such evidence."

Noting that the renewed mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iraq urges a focus "on newly available information about violations of human rights and international law by the Government of Iraq over many years," Mr. Vieira de Mello declared: "All relevant evidence concerning these violations must be secured and made available to the Special Rapporteur, as well as to jurisdictions that might be established to deal with grave violations of human rights committed by the former regime."

Meanwhile, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Kenzo Oshima, is due in Baghdad tomorrow to assess first-hand the humanitarian situation in Iraq as well as its future humanitarian needs.

In the coming days, he will also visit Basra and the Lower South region of the country. He will meet with UN staff and non-government organizations as well as with members of the US-run Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance.