HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNED OVER POSSIBLE

LOSS OF EVIDENCE OF PAST ABUSES IN IRAQ

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 16 May (UN Information Service) -- Following is a statement issued today by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello:

The High Commissioner for Human Rights is concerned that evidence of past serious human rights violations in Iraq may be lost unless immediate measures are taken to ensure its preservation.  Reports of mass grave sites being discovered and interfered with in various locations in Iraq lend considerable urgency to this matter.

The High Commissioner has urged the Government of the United States and coalition partners to ensure the immediate protection and integrity of mass grave sites and other evidence.  Equally, appropriate access to these sites by independent forensic experts will be vital in preserving the integrity of such evidence.

The High Commissioner recalls that the renewed mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iraq enjoins the Special Rapporteur to focus “on newly available information about violations of human rights and international law by the Government of Iraq over many years”.  All relevant evidence concerning these violations must be secured and made available to the Special Rapporteur, as well as to jurisdictions that might be established to deal with grave violations of human rights committed by the former regime.

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