Amal Clooney delivered a stunning speech to the United Nations on Wednesday about on the atrocities of the genocide committed against the Yazidi people, urging Iraq and the UN not to let ISIS “get away with murder.” 

While several news outlets focused on what “George Clooney’s wife” who is “a lawyer” was wearing or how her “baby bump” looked, her passionate, professional speech on justice for the Yazidi people was the real news. 

Clooney has been advocating on behalf of Nadia Murad, a survivor of the ISIS attack, in trying to convince the International Criminal Court to recognize the genocide as a war crime.

Take Action: Help Get Justice for the Yazidi People Who Faced Genocide

Murad, who sat beside Clooney for the speech, survivedsex slavery at the hands of ISIS and now advocates for justice for Yazidis. She also serves as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. 

Clooney addressed the Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi, “on behalf of all ISIS victims” specifically asking him to send a letter urging the powerful 15-nation UN Security Council to investigate the crimes of ISIS in Iraq. Though Clooney specifically addressed al-Abadi, she spoke in front of the entire 193 member United Nations committee. 

Clooney pointed out that though the EU, UN, and Iraqi officials supported an investigation into ISIS's war crimes, yet little action has been taken for months. 

“...Over the last few months, I have met with Iraqi, EU and UN officials and members of the Security Council, including the Russian and US Ambassadors, to discuss this initiative. All of them expressed support for the idea of a UN investigation to be established by the Security Council with Iraq’s cooperation,” she said. 

Clooney pointed out that the leadership of the United Kingdom also supported moving the case forward, but the Iraqi government still had not taken action.

Read More: Belgium Says It Favors Bringing Amal Clooney’s ISIS Case to International Criminal Court

“But months have passed, deadlines set by the UK have come and gone, and the Iraqi government has declined to send the letter. So there has been no vote, no resolution, no investigation,” she said. 

Clooney was even so bold in her speech, she called out the hypocrisy of the United Nations in relation to the Yazidi genocide. 

“The UN was created as the world’s way of saying ‘never again’ to the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis. And yet here we are, 70 years later, discussing the UN’s inaction in the face of a genocide that we all know about, and that is ongoing,” she said. 

Global Citizen, in partnership with CHIME FOR CHANGE, has been campaigning for the ICC to acknowledge ISIS in the genocide and war crimes against the Yazidi people since the launch of our Level the Law campaign. The more countries that support justice for Yazidis, the more likely the ICC is to recognize the case. 

Take Action: Call on Sweden to Bring Justice to the Yazidi People

If each tabloid and news outlet reported on the genocide of the Yazidi people and the torture, rape, and murder they faced by ISIS, justice for the Yazidi people would could, perhaps, come more quickly. 

“If we do not change course, history will judge us, and there will be no excuse for our failure to act,” said Clooney.