By Courtney Cox
After footage of the beheading of a second American hostage
surfaced, the United States declared war on the self-proclaimed ‘Islamic State’
(IS) this week. Concurrently, the twenty-seventh session of the United
Nations Human Rights Council launched to discuss dire humanitarian
issues. In the opening session, the Council prioritized crimes against humanity
at the hands of IS. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al
Hussein, urged the international community to combat the ruthless bloodshed in
the regions targeted by IS.
BBC reports that
IS is coercing religious conversions, and consistently executing those who
refuse to acquiesce on a massive scale. Yazidi, Turkmen, Shabak, Kaka’i,
Sabeans and Shia communities have been specifically targeted. Horrific accounts
of violent abuse and the detainment of women and children (who are particularly
vulnerable to sexual abuse) have also come to light. To date, thousands of
civilians have been killed, and over a million have abandoned their homes. The vicious
acts of IS reek of genocide and warrant a sense of international urgency.
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