Only the deployment of sufficient numbers of troops with logistical support by UN member states will provide the protection that the civilians so desperately need.

The Security Council should not only explicitly reiterate that there can be no impunity for crimes under international law, but also must decide on concrete action to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.

The possibility of blanket immunity for those who willfully rape, loot and murder in the course of the civil war demonstrates a total disregard for human rights and would be an outrage for civilians who endured such cruelty.

Not only has the Iraqi government failed to provide minimal protection for its citizens, it has actively pursued a policy of rounding up and torturing innocent men and women. Its failure to punish those who have committed acts of torture has added to the breakdown of the rule of law and to spiraling human rights violations in Iraq.

The men's captors worked very hard to conceal every aspect of detention but our research assessing information about climate, prayer schedules and flight times suggests that these men may have been held in Eastern Europe or Central Asia.