Dr. Bahaa Helmy Writes: The Burning of Girls: A Mark of Shame on the Brow of the United Nations and Human Rights

On 10/6/2016 The Burning of Girls: A Mark of Shame on the Brow of the United Nations and Human Rights Dr. Bahaa Helmy bahaabb@hotmail. com Every year on 19 June, the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. This year it coincides with the news that ISIS burned dozens of girls in the city of Mosul, Iraq, for refusing sexual slavery. The victims, whom ISIS had taken as concubines for sex, were put in iron cages and burned to death in front of hundreds of people. This is not the first incident in which captive children, girls or women have been sold or killed. ISIS had previously held and raped many girls no older than eight, and killed many of them by shooting, either to get rid of them or to stop them from escaping. Burning, beheading and drowning are among the methods of execution ISIS uses against anyone who disobeys an order or tries to harm them. The method of killing is chosen according to the gravity of the crime committed by the "enemies of God", as they see it. Scenes of burning and leaping flames are the most horrific of all, revealing how far the perpetrators have stripped themselves of humanity and how much they enjoy watching their victims scream as the fire consumes their bodies. ISIS uses burning not only to kill and to degrade humanity, but also to terrorize and spread fear among the people living in the areas under its control. It is also a form of revenge, and a form of torture used systematically to destroy the social fabric of the areas seized by violent and extremist groups in conflict zones. The burnings began with books, manuscripts and libraries, followed by the burning of the Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh, which outraged the entire world. After that came a series of burnings of people labelled as spies, or of captives sentenced to death by burning. But this is the first time that some nineteen girls who refused to submit to slavery have been burned at once. Sexual violence includes "rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity". Holding girls and women captive therefore exposes them to these crimes for as long as they are held, leaving them with severe physical and psychological trauma, in addition to the risk of contracting AIDS. That these girls were burned because of their self-respect and pride, knowing full well what fate awaited them, shows the strength and courage to sacrifice oneself in defence of honour, dignity and all of humanity. Meanwhile, the world, led by the United Nations and the human rights bodies, is failing to act at every level: international, regional and national. Before we hear about the United Nations' "concern", or about it undertaking a study of the legal characterization of these crimes and whether or not they amount to war crimes, we ask: where is the conscience of humanity? Why have the governments and parliaments of the world not risen up to defend humanity? Where are the international and regional bodies and the civil society organizations concerned with human rights? In our view, these are the worst crimes being committed against children, girls and women. The world's silence in the face of these crimes is a mark of shame on the brow of the United Nations, the countries of the world, and all the other international organizations concerned, such as Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as civil society organizations such as Human Rights Watch and its branches and sister organizations around the world. It is a crime against our sons, our daughters, our mothers and the women of the world. The international community must stand together for humanity to rescue women from the abduction, slavery, enslavement and killing taking place in Iraq, Syria and anywhere else. Saving women means saving the future, and it would be fitting to make the day these girls were burned a world day for saving humanity.