Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask leave of the Federation Chamber to amend notice No. 3, private members' business, in the terms as circulated.

Leave granted.

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

  (a) genocide is a crime under international law, which has been enacted into Australian law through Division 268 of the Australian Criminal Code; and

  (b) the Iraqi Council of Ministers, United Nations institutions, and many parliaments have recognised that ISIL's crimes against the Yazidis constitute genocide;

(2) welcomes the Government's decisive action in resettling Yazidi refugees;

(3) condemns the genocide perpetrated against Yazidis by ISIL;

(4) calls for continued support for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL and efforts to liberate Yazidis in ISIL captivity;

(5) recognises the importance of justice for Yazidi victims and survivors of ISIL and calls on the Government to continue to support accountability for the perpetrators of serious international crimes against the Yazidis, including, where appropriate, in Australian courts and in other jurisdictions, where these are consistent with international standards;

(6) calls on the Government to continue supporting the formation of an Investigative Team pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2379 (2017) and, once established, to support it in the collection, preservation and storage of evidence of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide; and

(7) supports the:

  (a) continued efforts to defeat ISIL militarily and ideologically via de- radicalisation and countering violent extremism programs;

  (b) continued consideration of the plight of the Yazidis in the development of Australian humanitarian policies and programs;

  (c) continued provision of psychological and other social support services for Yazidi refugees living in Australia;

  (d) right of the Yazidis and all minorities to live in peace, safety and freedom in Syria and Iraq and to participate in relevant political processes; and

  (e) protection of Yazidis, Christians and other minorities in Iraq, under United Nations supervision and in cooperation with relevant authorities and minorities.

Today, I want to speak about the recent events that have occurred in Syria and Iraq with respect to the Yazidis. The recent military defeat of ISIL allows for some reflection on the atrocities inflicted by Islamic extremism over the past four years in Syria and Iraq. In particular, the Yazidi people of north-eastern Iraq have been subjected to extraordinary violence inflicted by ISIL. The Yazidi were actively hunted by ISIL. Massacres of civilians, including women and children, were widely reported as ISIL assaulted Iraq in 2014. They surrounded fleeing Yazidi on Mount Sinjar and attempted to starve them out. There have been many reports of surviving women and children also being abducted by ISIL forces and sold into slavery. The violence and horror of these stories appal me, as they should every member of this chamber. They include a 20-year-old woman being beaten and raped multiple times a day for months, ISIL taking entire villages and shooting all but the young women, who were then sexually assaulted by ISIL fighters, and women and, indeed, young girls being sold and traded amongst ISIL fighters like objects. Survivors managed to flee any way they could, and some who have since resettled in Australia have told their story.

I encountered a human face of one of these stories last year when I met and spoke with a Yazidi survivor, Nihad. At the age of 15, she was captured on the way to Mount Sinjar, fleeing from ISIL fighters. Her sister was raped in front of her and she was sold to an ISIL fighter. She was then raped and beaten repeatedly. When the fighter died in combat, she was sold to a man she referred to as a monster, who kept her and other Yazidi girls as slaves. Nihad was further raped and beaten and then fell pregnant. Nihad gave birth to her son in July 2015. When she managed to escape, she was unable to take her young baby with her and the baby was forced to remain with the father, a member of ISIL. She's never seen the baby again.

Since listening to the horror inflicted on Nihad, I've also learnt of other stories of some Yazidi victims who have also settled here in Australia. Khudeeda Omar Qoolo now lives in Toowoomba, but in 2014 his village was assaulted at 2 am by ISIL. He and his family had to flee 25 kilometres to Mount Sinjar while being fired upon. His brother and their family also fled but did not arrive at the mountain. They have not been heard from since. Khudeeda and his family were trapped on Mount Sinjar for nine days with little food or water. Due to their desperate situation, in order to escape they decided to attempt to walk from Mount Sinjar to Kurdistan. Luckily, they came across a Kurdish convoy, who were able to ferry them to a refugee camp. Furthermore, his daughter and two of his grandchildren were captured by ISIL and sold to a terrorist. Khudeeda spent months negotiating with the terrorists to free his daughter and grandchildren and had to pay a ransom in order to free them. He then had to pay smugglers to rescue his daughter and grandchildren.

Sadly, Khudeeda's story is not unique. Another man, now living in New South Wales, fled from an assault on his village with his wife and children. They spent four days trapped on Mount Sinjar with very little food and needing to walk eight hours to get any water. To escape, they had to travel through ISIL controlled areas to another town, Kursi, past victims and people dying from starvation and dehydration. After staying in Kursi for three days, this family tried to escape from Kursi into Syria. Thousands of Yazidi walked for hours in darkness with injuries, illness and bleeding feed to a Kurdish controlled area. Such was their fear that, when they first found Kurdish forces, people screamed in terror as they thought they had been found by ISIL. Instead they finally received food, water, shelter and transport to freedom.

Sadly, these stories are from survivors—those who have managed to escape from ISIL. Moreover, these are a small sample of the horrors suffered by the Yazidi. The Yazidi were specifically targeted by ISIL, forced from their homes and, if captured, often executed or sold into slavery. Many have labelled these crimes genocide, and this is what this motion here today presents to this parliament. I look forward to further debate on this motion.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his contribution. Is there a seconder for the motion?

Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security and Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I thank the member for Dunkley for bringing attention to this very important issue. Last September I brought forward a similar private members' motion and I spoke strongly against the use of sexual violence in conflict and the need for the perpetrators of such violence and evil to be held to account. I am a strong supporter of UN resolution 1325 and the subsequent women, peace and security resolutions that have followed in recent years. I recently spoke at an event run by the Gender Institute and Centre for Military and Security Law for the 'Prosecute; don't perpetrate' campaign. I welcome the architect of the 'Prosecute; don't perpetrate' campaign, Susan Hutchinson, who is in the chamber with us today as we speak about this important issue that she has a very committed view on. She's been a strong advocate on this issue for many years.

The 'Prosecute; don't perpetrate' campaign calls on governments to investigate and prosecute the sexual violence perpetrated by their own nationals who fought with Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Members of Daesh have committed sexual violence, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and these crimes are classified as such because sexual violence, as perpetrated against the Yazidis, is with the intent to destroy in whole or in part the Yazidi community—in other words, genocide.

At the 'Prosecute; don't perpetrate' event last year we were joined by Shireen and her friends and family who have recently settled in Australia as refugees from northern Iraq. Shireen's family are from a village called Kocho, where Daesh undertook a sweeping campaign, killing thousands of Yazidis in August 2014. They kidnapped hundreds of women and girls, who were sold into sexual slavery, and buried the dead in mass graves. Shireen told her family's story in this very building as part of the official celebrations of World Refugee Day last year. She told how she'd been lucky to escape Kocho before Daesh came but how some of her family, including her sister, her sister's husband and their children were captured or killed.

From the back row of the event at the ANU I spoke at last year Shireen and her friends and family—and there were many of them—were weeping not only for the pain of hearing about the part some Australians played in the suffering of their community and from the ongoing trauma of missing loved ones but for the call to action that was very strong in that room, for their desire for recognition and for justice for what they experienced.

Last year I passed that motion calling for the investigation and prosecution of Australians who perpetrated sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity while fighting with terrorist groups like Daesh in Syria and Iraq. And today we pass this motion. We speak on this motion which condemns the genocide perpetrated against the Yazidi people by Daesh and calls for continued support to investigate Australians who have allegedly perpetrated war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, including through the use of sexual violence; to prosecute them as appropriate; and to support international efforts to gather evidence, investigate and prosecute those responsible for international crimes perpetrated by Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

The 2016 UN independent commission of inquiry on Syria recorded the gruesome details of crimes against the Yazidis. We know that women and girls have suffered terribly throughout the genocide and that survivors, including those now living in Australia, continue to grieve over their lost relatives and suffer flashbacks from their own torture. Australia has criminalised sexual violence, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, but the last time an Australian court heard a case of war crimes was in 1951. That's a long time ago.

This parliament has updated Australia's legislation on war crimes to ensure that it applies to members of organisations such as Daesh. When we ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, we took on the responsibility of investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and prosecuting them in our own courts. Now is the time to take up that responsibility. We must gather the legal testimony of victims and witnesses to this genocide committed by Daesh including their heinous use of sexual violence against the Yazidis who now call Australia home. We must include such evidence in investigations conducted by Australian authorities and share it with the international investigative mechanisms established in Syria and Iraq. I hope this motion acts as the next step towards Australia pursuing victims of Daesh's heinous crimes.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

May I start by commending the member for Dunkley for this motion. I'm very happy to stand up and let my voice to this motion. I also echo the member for Dunkley in recognising the Prosecute; Don't Perpetrate campaign and Susan. It is a sad and unfortunate fact that the most vulnerable victims of conflict are women and children. It is a fact that women and girls suffer disproportionately during and after war. They are vulnerable particularly to sexual violence and exploitation as well as other war crimes. It was the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which was the first to recognise rape and sexual violence as a crime of genocide. The tribunal found that sexual violence was a constituent element of genocide in Rwanda. The UN Human Rights Council asserts that Daesh sought to destroy the minority Yazidis through killing, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and other war crimes, confirming that Daesh's crimes against the Yazidis do indeed constitute genocide.

It is easy to dismiss this as something far away that has no impact on us here in Australia in our safe haven but there are implications here. Australia ratified the Genocide Convention which requires us to enact legislation to penalise persons guilty of genocide. In 1995, genocide became illegal in Australia. Our National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security is a vehicle for us to implement UN Security Council resolutions around sexual violence against women and girls. But we also have a more direct responsibility.

We have a responsibility to prosecute those who return from fighting in foreign conflicts in Iraq and Syria. We have a responsibility to prosecute those who have fought for Daesh for war crimes involving sexual violence, crimes against humanity and genocide. We cannot let this slide. We need to send a strong message that those who return to Australia after fighting with Daesh will not get away with the sexual violence they have perpetrated in conducting their heinous acts in Iraq and Syria.

I echo the sentiments previously expressed by the member for Canberra about the importance of ensuring that any prosecution that we conduct in relation to those who have returned as foreign fighters from Iraq and Syria should include an element of recognition of the sexual violence they perpetrated there. The other responsibility we have is to provide a safe haven for those persecuted minorities through our humanitarian policies, through supporting resettlement, and through an effective and comprehensive settlement program that includes a recognition of the significant trauma that many of these minorities particularly Yazidi women have had to endure at the hands of Daesh. We have heard so far today from previous speakers personal accounts of those tragic stories.

In regards to recent comments by the coalition that reflect a pattern of dog whistling against migrants and refugees, this has a broader impact on the wellbeing and successful settlement of those who have already suffered unspeakable trauma. I would caution those who use arguments about population, arguments about immigration and arguments to draw attention to the others within our community who have, as our national anthem says, come across the seas to seek safe haven here in Australia. I would caution them to understand the broader impact of their words and understand the broader impact of their political opportunism in drawing attention to immigration and refugees. We cannot talk about genocide and prosecuting the guilty if we aren't prepared to support the persecuted. This is why the 'Prosecute; don't perpetrate' campaign is so important. I urge all members in the House today to listen with open minds, open hearts and open ears to the tragic tale of these women who have come here and to support the 'Prosecute; don't perpetrate' campaign.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I firstly congratulate the member for Dunkley for moving this important motion. We've heard during this debate some very moving and tragic accounts of some of the acts of horror and genocide that were perpetrated against the Yazidis. I think it is important that this parliament consider these issues. It has been a long campaign by many in the international community, including Australia, to make sure that these horrors are properly recognised, but, more importantly, dealt with. Thankfully, the Australian government has already acted to help the Yazidis. The first part of this was through our contribution to the global coalition to defeat ISIL, as well as seeking to liberate Yazidis who may still be in captivity. Additionally, we've sought to help those who have been targeted. As such, hundreds of Yazidi survivors have already been settled in Australia—as part of our resettlement program—as part of the cohort of 1,200 refugees who fled the conflict in Syria and Iraq. Further, the Australian government is also seeking to fight slavery more broadly through the creation of the Modern Slavery Act. I commend the member for Dunkley, as chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Subcommittee, on his work in this regard.

However, the stories of horror that we've heard today cannot alone bring perpetrators to justice. The immediate aftermath of the defeat of ISIL should lead to an examination of these atrocities in concert with the formation of an investigative team, as already identified under UN Security Council Resolution 2379. The individual perpetrators of these crimes must be identified, investigated and brought to justice. I know that this is what 'Prosecute; don't perpetrate', and other organisations working on behalf of Yazidis, are trying to do. Such an investigation must be far-reaching in its conduct. While these are unspeakable horrors, to dismiss a fair and thorough investigation will not achieve justice for the Yazidis. As such, significant international support should go towards ensuring that the investigation has the resourcing it needs to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against the Yazidis.

Furthermore, this investigation will require an international component. There have been widespread reports of foreign fighters travelling to Syria and Iraq to assist ISIL, and unfortunately these have included some Australians. As ISIL is defeated militarily, it is likely that the surviving fighters will either flee to other conflicts or, potentially, attempt to return to their countries of origin. We cannot allow this to occur. This must also extend to those Australians who have fought for ISIL and who seek to return to Australia. These are people who have betrayed Australia and sought to represent a foreign force actively engaged in combat against Australian forces. Moreover, these people may very well have been complicit in some of the outrages inflicted upon the Yazidis. I have every confidence that the Australian government will investigate and prosecute any Australian involved in committing crimes against the Yazidis to ensure justice for victims and survivors of these atrocities.

With the end of the conflict and the fall of Raqqa late last year, there is now an opportunity for both justice and recovery. Properly investigating and prosecuting these atrocities will create a vehicle to assist the Yazidi community globally and will take a step towards rebuilding their society. By ensuring that Iraqi and international organisations investigate and prosecute those who have committed these terrible crimes, we can go some way to assisting in this process. Justice needs to be delivered for the Yazidi, and those who undertook these atrocities must be brought to account, no matter where they are in the world.

Can I say that I think it is important that this parliament recognises genocides such as those that the Yazidi have suffered. It's an important message to the world community that the international legal and global order will not ever tolerate these types of actions. I look forward to the day when this parliament can consider a similar motion in relation to that long and deeply felt genocide that was perpetrated against the Armenians a hundred years ago.

Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Industry and Support) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dunkley for bringing forward this motion on genocide in Iraq. It is important, not only for us as global citizens, for what has been done to the Yazidi people but also the dimension that conflicts with Australia's responsibilities in relation to its own citizens, as has been referred to. This in effect ticks the main boxes for the crime of genocide as defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: any 'intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group', not only by killing the members of that group but also by deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their destruction and by imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group. The extent to which some of the more heinous activities that were committed against the Yazidis in the Sinjar region in Iraq went to prevent future generations of Yazidis almost defies belief.

The Yazidis' problems went back to 2007, well before even this started, with some of the more radical senior elements under al-Qaeda in Iraq, but it particularly picked up pace when the Daesh forces took over the region where the Yazidi resided, in August 2014. The activities that they perpetrated there were not only mass killings, particularly of men at the beginning of their operations, but they moved to a position where they tried to create forced conversions—of course, the consequence of not agreeing to a forced conversion was death. Many hundreds of Yazidi men were rounded up, taken away, gunned down, buried alive and abandoned in mass graves. The women and girls were rounded up and examined by a gynaecologist to determine whether they were virgins or pregnant. If they were virgins they were immediately put into a slave market and handed off to the IS fighters. The pregnant women had forced abortions performed on them. It's completely incomprehensible to us sitting in this room what those circumstances must have been like for them, and then to have to move into the situation of sexual slavery, being passed from person to person—in fact the slave market was conducted largely online or through the use of apps like Telegram, Facebook and WhatsApp. All of these were used as part of this market. It is estimated that something like 3,000 women were subjected to this as sex slaves. For example, the cost of a virgin was around $10,000, and other women would go for $2,000 and $3,000.

It is horrifying to contemplate that this was also done under the guise of adherence to a religious belief. It not only identifies the fact that there was this horrific genocide going on, but it is good to see that after all these decades of saying 'never again' there was a reasonably quick response, not only to bring relief to the Yazidis who were trapped on Mount Sinjar but also to participate in the coalition, an international effort, to destroy Daesh, an effort that has largely been successful in the conventional sense. It is also good that we didn't weasel-word our approach to this. It was accepted as a genocide quite early on. In fact, the US House of Representatives averted 393 to 0 to accept that definition, in March 2016, which contrasts greatly to what happened in Rwanda.

So I'm pleased to see that we are being a bit more forceful, more proactive, but I would add my endorsement to this concept of making sure there we're doing all we can to ensure the prosecution of those who return and to choke off the ideology and ideological efforts and propaganda that happen in this country to promote our young people to go over to countries like this to commit these crimes.

Lest we think this is all just on the Islamic side, I'd like to also point out that we have groups like Antipodean Resistance. Just this very morning, a poster was placed upon my electorate office in Bega, a sophisticatedly produced poster by the fascist group Antipodean Resistance, with swastikas and caricature portraits of Jews, describing 'Jewish poison'. Part of their program is to pursue the legalisation of the killing of Jews. My wife is Jewish, of course, so that also added extra poignancy to it. This is happening in our country, as well as what we've seen manifesting overseas. We have to be very proactive and forceful on this, and I commend the member for highlighting that prosecutorial aspect of this crime.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned. Resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.