‘World must act responsibly,’ say UN advisors urging restraint following latest ISIL atrocity

Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) need to know that they will be held accountable for their crimes, two senior United Nations right officials declared today, adding that recent murder of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh was “yet another example of a deliberate grave abuse of human rights and international humanitarian law” perpetrated by the extremist group.

In a joint statement released this afternoon, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Genocide, Adama Dieng, and the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Jennifer Welsh, condemned the murder of Mr. al-Kasasbeh, who was immolated by the group earlier this week, and cautioned the international community against “the escalation of incitement in rhetoric” as a response to the pilot’s shocking death.

According to media reports, the terrorist group released a 22-minute video on 3 February purporting to show the execution of the Jordanian pilot by burning him alive. This latest murder comes on the heels of last Saturday’s beheading of a Japanese journalist and adds to the group’s long-standing reputation of committing atrocities against civilians.

“As we speak, thousands of civilians remain at the mercy of this group; members of minority groups continue to be killed and threatened in a systematic way; tribal leaders and others who dare to oppose ISIL in the areas it controls continue to be murdered; women and children are being specifically targeted, and religious and cultural symbols are being destroyed,” the Special Advisers said in a joint statement.

ISIL’s actions have shocked and outraged the international community, drawing widespread condemnation from the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN Security Council, and world leaders alike. As such, the Special Advisers urged “all those with influence” to exercise and encourage restraint and to “refrain from incitement to hostility or violence, even in moment of outrage.”

“At this time, we must unite in the fight against terrorism and uphold international law,” the UN officials continued.

“The use of hate speech by influential personalities at a moment like this may only trigger further violence. An escalation of inflammatory rhetoric could ultimately serve the interests of terrorists.”

In addition, they called on all religious leaders to “act responsibly” and refrain from fuelling tensions with any provocative language.

Both Advisers recalled that the 2005 World Summit outcome document commitment by Member States to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity includes a commitment to prevent the incitement of these crimes.