War crimes: Australia looks to compensate Afghans

KABUL (Pajhwok):  The Australian government is looking for “a way forward” to compensate families of victims of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, as the full judgement of the Ben Roberts-Smith case is set to be released.

Deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, received a number of briefings from officials about compensation, one of the key outstanding recommendations of the Brereton report he is examining.

“Whilst there are a number of complexities associated with this, the government remains committed to implementing, to the extent that it can, the Brereton report,” a spokesperson for Marles said.

The four-year-long inquiry by Maj Gen Paul Brereton found “credible” information to implicate 25 current or former Australian special forces personnel in the alleged unlawful killing of 39 individuals and the cruel treatment of two others.

Criminal allegations are being considered by the office of the special investigator, but the inquiry also made a range of other recommendations, including cultural reforms to the Australian defence force and administrative action against individuals.

The Department of Defence originally set late last year as a deadline for deciding on a system for offering compensation, but this was missed by the former Morrison government and the issue had not been resolved by the time Labor won the election in May.

The fall of Afghanistan and the closure of the Australian embassy in Kabul last year are believed to have only added to pre-existing legal complexities, as no one has yet been charged or convicted over the alleged war crimes.

But the Australian Centre for International Justice, a legal centre that aims to combat impunity, said these challenges “should not be relied upon as an excuse for inaction”.

The ACIJ said UN agencies were operating across Afghanistan, while Australian humanitarian groups were either present or had physical access through Afghan partner organisations.

It said the Australian interim mission on Afghanistan based in Doha, Qatar, could help with consultations and delivery of redress.

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