Australia‘s prosecution of two women has redefined how democracies bring justice for the atrocities committed against victims of war outside of their own countries, marking the first prosecution for crimes against humanity that is associated with the crimes committed by ISIS against the Yazidis, an ethno-religious minority group. The prosecution also helps to put back on our societal radar all of the violence suffered by the Yazidi people.
Two women, who are former members of ISIS known as “ISIS brides,” were charged with slavery-related offences after returning to Australia from multiple detention facilities in northeastern Syria, following the collapse of ISIS and the destruction of specific areas it controlled, where they allegedly enslaved a Yazidi woman. The UN has stated that these two women are part of an overall larger group of individuals who have committed genocide against over 6000 members of the Yazidi community.
This case is not just about returning extremists; this case is about people who are still waiting for justice.
In 2014, the Islamic State began a systematic campaign against the Yazidi people in the northern part of Iraq. The Islamic State had, and still has, destroyed entire villages and committed mass killings of men and boys. The Yazidi people have had over 6,000 women and children taken from them and subjected to the brutal derivatives of a slave economy, including abductions, forced marriages, rapes, and trafficking, all in an attempt to create terror and erase the entire Yazidi race.
Even after they escaped captivity, many survivors have continued to experience trauma from those experiences, and their families remain broken, and many remain unaccounted for.
However, an emerging story may elicit a significant response from survivors from all backgrounds. A young woman, believed to be one of the victims in the Australian case, reportedly reached out to investigators and offered to testify against the accused. Should this be true, her willingness to do so would create a substantial change in perceptions of the prosecution and potentially turn it into an internationally recognised indictment of the horrific actions committed against Yazidis throughout the world.
This case also raises a legal question concerning how Western countries handle individuals who have been arrested in their home country for being involved in acts of violence committed against others outside their borders. For decades, countries have tried to figure out how to handle people who return home after committing crimes abroad.
Governments have engaged in debates for many years regarding the repatriation of women and children from detention centres in Syria. Critics say repatriating these people risks national security, while some human rights advocates say that leaving women and children in these facilities will create an area where no one can be held accountable for the identified victims.
Australia has now chosen a different approach altogether. They will return the women and prosecute them.
If successful, the case could set an international precedent that participating in acts of violence such as slavery, regardless of whether or not the acts occurred in a war zone, cannot be hidden beneath the disarray created by the collapse of battlefields.
Recognition is important.
These families’ daughters were the result of the brutality in this war and not just collateral damage.
Recognition means that there are people all around the world, including ourselves, who are also acknowledging that 21st-century slavery has occurred.
It means that, even after being quiet for many years, the world might be ready to hear their stories now. The Yazidis have waited far too long for justice.
The courts in Australia may be where some of this long-due justice can finally begin.
