That's a great question. Thank you for that.
I'll answer it in two ways. The first is, as I mentioned before, many of Iraq's religious minorities that we've been particularly concerned about live in Nineveh , which is a disputed area, so in order to actually be able to advance some of the efforts around the collection of evidence, the analysis of that evidence, and identifying, if we're looking at criminal prosecution, forums for cases to be held, we need to see co-operation between Baghdad and Erbil.
The international community has a really important role to play to make sure that those two actors are co-operating on prioritizing accountability. They're involved in a military effort to defeat the Islamic State. For them, accountability is not a top-tier priority, but it should be if they are concerned about preventing a recurrence of atrocities and creating conditions in which minorities will feel safe and will feel that they can return home. Providing constructive engagement to both capitals about the need to prioritize justice and accountability is one critical role that your government and all governments can play.
The second is in providing actual capacity-building support to those two governments. One of the things that's very interesting is that neither Baghdad nor Erbil have laws on the books that allow them to actually prosecute perpetrators for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes. So people are being arrested—if they are now—and they are being charged only for counterterrorism crimes. Counterterrorism crimes are critical, and they need to be held responsible for them, but that differs from large-scale sexual slavery and the commission of rape.
We need to see both governments create legislation and actually start prosecuting people for these crimes, and we need them to determine whether they will be prosecuted in Erbil or in Baghdad. Will they be prosecuted in courts that will be stood up in Mosul and in Sinjar? That has to involve a conversation, and the international community very much has to be part of it, both to help compel and explain to these governments why accountability is a critical component of a counter-ISIS strategy and a prevention of atrocities strategy, and too, to provide them with the support to be able to do that at the local level.
In terms of how to better inform, for example, your government, there are certain countries that have created ambassador posts for global criminal justice to help oversee these types of difficult issues, not just in Iraq, in Syria, but in South Sudan and elsewhere. That could be one particular step that could also be taken in terms of just institutionalizing a commitment to atrocity prevention and the pursuit of justice and accountability.
Hopefully I answered your question in terms of what's needed a little bit at the local level and why Nineveh and the disputed status of that again creates so many challenges, not just in terms of physical protection and stabilization but also in terms of justice and accountability.