‘Unconscionable’ Australia hasn’t paid for war crimes

Victims of war crimes in Afghanistan are owed compensation and Australia must pay them immediately, a panel of UN experts has urged.

A report led by judge Paul Brereton found evidence Australian soldiers had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans, with some tortured before their murders.

Four years have passed since the report’s publication, and for some victims’ families, it has been more than a decade since their loved ones were killed.

Despite accepting recommendations on compensation, the federal government has not paid a cent to any victim and has not explained when, or if, it will.

A group of independent experts at the United Nations says this is “unacceptable.”

“Australia has a duty to compensate victims of summary executions and torture under international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” they said in a joint statement.

“It is unconscionable that families of deceased victims… have been left destitute in the harsh living conditions of rural Afghanistan for over a decade.”

Nazar Gul, one of the men allegedly shot dead by Australia’s special forces in 2012, had three wives and 17 children.

His family does not have money to buy clothes and sometimes resorts to begging for food.

Australian soldiers also allegedly handcuffed Afghan national Ali Jan before kicking him off a small cliff, shooting him and claiming he was a spotter for Taliban insurgents.

The man had been working to provide for his wife Bibi Dhorko and three children.

“His children go barefoot and most of the time the family does not have food to eat,” the experts’ report said.

“(Bibi Dhorko) doesn’t sleep well at night and is always thinking about why Ali Jan was killed.

“She is seeking justice.”

Australian authorities have not contacted nor directly apologized to either family.

The government adopted regulations in July that would allow them to pay victims compensation, however, these payments would be made as a form of charity provided at the discretion of the military, not a legal right under international law.

This means there are no clear or consistent criteria about the amount of compensation victims must receive, due process and judicial safeguards are inadequate and there is no requirement to consult with those affected.

Afghanistan’s political and security environment, alongside a lack of diplomatic relations with the Taliban authorities, has made it difficult to pay victims, the UN experts acknowledged.

But there are feasible solutions and the experts have offered their assistance.

The experts include Ben Saul, the UN’s special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, Richard Bennett, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and Bernard Duhaime, special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, repair and guarantees of non-recurrence.

International law also requires Australia to provide medical, psychological, legal and other assistance to victims’ families.

The Department of Defense has been approached for comment.