Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Iraqi government to intensify efforts to exhume mass graves associated with the genocide against Kurds by Saddam Hussein and mass killings by ISIS. HRW's report, released on Tuesday, underscores the urgency of addressing the needs of victims' families as the UN's mandate in Iraq to investigate ISIS crimes approaches its expiration on September 17.

HRW's Iraq researcher, Sarah Sanbar, emphasized the importance of exhuming mass graves to provide justice and healing for affected families. The report highlighted several critical issues: the need for increased efforts to exhume graves, identify victims, return remains to families, issue death certificates, and provide compensation as stipulated by Iraqi law.

The UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS (UNITAD), established in 2017, has been instrumental in investigating ISIS atrocities and has supported the excavation of 67 mass graves, including those from the Camp Speicher massacre. On June 12, 2014, ISIS militants executed approximately 1,700 Shiite cadets at Camp Speicher in Tikrit. UNITAD found clear evidence that this massacre constituted war crimes under international law.

HRW's report also points out that the lack of death certificates, compensation for families, and specialized DNA identification labs are major challenges. With UNITAD's mission ending soon, there are concerns that these issues may worsen due to the Iraqi government's limited capacity.

The Anfal campaign, conducted by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds from 1986 to 1988, resulted in the deaths of over 182,000 Kurds and included the Halabja chemical attack that killed 5,000 people instantly. HRW estimates that around 400,000 people remain in mass graves across Iraq, according to the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq.