Australia to compensate Afghan victims of war crimes

KABUL (Pajhwok): Canberra is looking for ways of compensating the families who were unlawfully killed or abused by Australian forces in Afghanistan, a media report said on Sunday.

Compensation was one of the recommendations from the damning 2020 Brereton report, which found “credible information” that Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were involved in serious crimes.

The crimes included the “murder” of 39 prisoners and civilians between 2005 and 2016, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Sunday.

The regulations, quietly published on Thursday, shows a new Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Advocate will assess a claim if the chief of the Defence Force (CDF), Admiral David Johnston, refers it to them based on a series of criteria.

That includes that the claim must relate to someone who is “reasonably likely” to be the victim of assault or property damage or a family member of someone unlawfully killed.

The federal government is expected to make further announcements about its response to the Afghanistan Inquiry report in the months ahead.

kk/mud

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