A/HRC/28/18 71. Although some measures have been put in place to protect mass graves and prevent attempts to exhume the bodies, more needs to be done in order to make sure that the dead can be identified and the cause of death determined. III. Legal responsibility A. States’ legal responsibility 72. Information gathered by the mission strongly suggests that international crimes may have been perpetrated and continue to be perpetrated in Iraq by ISIL. The primary legal responsibility for addressing those international crimes lies with the State of Iraq whose duty it is to protect persons under its jurisdiction and ensure accountability. 73. All States are required to determine how to implement their obligations to ensure respect for international humanitarian law, especially in the framework of their obligation to investigate and prosecute allegations of war crimes and genocide. The Government of Iraq has a duty to investigate all allegations which concern ISIL, ISF and affiliated armed groups, as well as other armed militias, and to prosecute perpetrators, including the responsible commanders and other superiors. 74. Information gathered by the mission suggests that some militia groups may enjoy de facto command over regular forces. If that is true, it is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that all organized armed forces, groups and units are placed under a command responsible for the conduct of its subordinates. 75. In light of the violations perpetrated by parties to the armed conflict in Iraq, other States who lend support to the various parties to the conflict need to determine whether such support is compatible with their obligations under international law. B. Individual criminal responsibility 76. The following crimes may have been committed. • Genocide, by killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm and forced transfer of children, as part of a manifest pattern of similar conduct aimed at the destruction of a particular group. Information gathered strongly suggests that ISIL may have perpetrated those crimes against the Yezidi population. • Crimes against humanity, such as murder, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence and persecution, committed as part of widespread and systematic attacks directed against civilian populations pursuant to, or in furtherance of, an organizational policy to commit such attacks. Information provided strongly suggests that ISIL has perpetrated some of those crimes against Christian, Shia and Yezidi communities. • War crimes of murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture, outrages upon personal dignity, the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court, directing attacks against the civilian population, directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, historic monuments, pillaging a town or place, committing rape, sexual slavery and any other form of sexual violence, conscripting or enlisting children or using them to participate actively in hostilities, ordering the displacement of the 15