Justice Update – Afghan Victims Still Waiting for Justice

By Susannah PalkJustice Update, podcast episodes
From left to right: Shaharzad Akbar, Ben Saul, Rawan Arraf and Horia Mosadiq.

Today is the third episode in our series examining how Australia has confronted allegations of war crimes committed by its Special Forces in Afghanistan. (Missed them? Our explainer on the Brereton Report here and our exclusive interview with Jeff Sengelman here.)

In this podcast, we focus on where things stand today—not just in terms of criminal accountability for the soldiers accused of these war crimes, but justice, reparations and compensation for the Afghan victims and their families.

A study by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, released last year, examined accountability for human rights violations in Afghanistan. It stated, “There has been almost complete impunity for all state actors—of varied ideologies—that have held power, and for all armed forces, including those of foreign states, that took part in the conflict.”

We spoke with Shaharzad Akbar, Executive Director of Rawadari, and Afghan human rights defender Horia Mosadiq about their perspectives on Australia’s efforts to pursue accountability.

We then examined the details of Australia’s Compensation Scheme and the progress of criminal investigations with Professor Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and Rawan Arraf, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Justice.

Both Professor Saul and Ms. Arraf have serious concerns with the prolonged delay in compensating victims’ families and in how the compensation scheme has been set up. Indeed Professor Saul, along with Richard Bennet, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and a number of other UN Special Rapporteurs wrote a strongly worded letter of communication to the Australian government last year, about the delays in compensation and concerns with how the scheme has been set up.

Next month, we’ll conclude our series by placing the Australian Inquiry in an international context, exploring similar investigations worldwide and developments at the ICC — so be sure to tune in.

This podcast has been produced as part of a partnership with JusticeInfo.net, an independent website in French and English covering justice initiatives in countries dealing with serious violence. It is a media outlet of Fondation Hirondelle, based in Lausanne, Switzerland.