Joined by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, a Yazidi woman who described praying for death while being raped by her Islamic State captors has called on world leaders to step up efforts to bring the militants group to justice for genocide and other crimes.
The two women said not one Islamic State militant has been tried for atrocities. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson suggested that could change soon.
Johnson, whose country helped organise a meeting of foreign ministers to address efforts to prosecute Islamic State militants, said he and Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari would urge the UN to take the lead on "the vital gathering and the preserving of evidence" of crimes committed by the group.
Nadia Murad, who was captured by the militants in 2014, said she was repeatedly raped and prayed for death until she escaped. Named UN special ambassador last week, the 23-year-old appealed to the world to "stop the extermination of my people".
"Why is a survivor like me knocking on the door of the International Court of Justice to get justice?"' she said at the meeting, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit.
Clooney, Murad's legal representative, said Yazidi victims "want to appear before a judge". She urged the UN Security Council to focus on "genocide against Yazidis".
