Barnabas Fund acknowledged that the UNSC did not specify any ethnic or religious group but also noted that the Christians, Yazidis, and Shia Muslims have been targeted in acts by ISIS that have been declared as “genocide” by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. However, the charity reminded people that these acts of violence were not just confined to Iraq as there are other victims of extremism in Syria and other places, PREMIER detailed.

“After years of calling for justice to be done to the victims of genocide in Iraq, the UN has at last heard a plea for the forgotten minorities such as Christians and Yazidis who have been erased from their homelands,” Barnabas Fund said in a statement. “We and other agencies have maintained that Christians have been systematically targeted by Islamists.”

“We welcome the resolution and hope that it will bring about justice for minorities and ensure that the needs of Christians are prioritised after years of neglect,” the group added.

While Barnabas applauded UNSC for its latest move, Human Rights Watch has slammed the council for its alleged “flawed and selective” approach on war crimes and rights abuses. The organization said anti-ISIS forces in Iraq should also be investigated for the said crimes, RT reported.

Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East & North Africa division’s executive director, told RT that they have records of “very serious abuses” by ISIS. On the other hand, she revealed that they also have documented similar abuses by Iraqi troops, militias, and international coalition members, and that those responsible for these acts should also be brought to justice.

Whitson said there were some detainees who were subjected to torture, execution and other abuses at the hands of Iraqis just because of their alleged relation to an ISIS militant. HRW warned that an imbalance in the dispensation of justice could trigger new divisions or pave the way for the rise of other militant groups in Iraq.