KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Australian government has announced the approval of a compensation plan for victims of war crimes committed by its soldiers in Afghanistan.
Australia’s Department of Defence said the plan is based on recommendations from its Inspector-General in the “Afghanistan Inquiry Report.”
The department added that the plan covers certain credible allegations of unlawful killings, illegal attacks, and property damage by Australian forces between 2005 and 2016, as verified by the Inquiry.
Under the scheme, compensation may include monetary payments as well as non-monetary reparations such as building construction, apology letters, or formal acknowledgments.
Victims and their families have been urged to submit compensation claims through an online form, providing relevant information and documentation.
The human rights monitoring organization Ravandari welcomed Australia’s move, calling it an important step toward justice and recognition of the suffering endured by victims and their families.
Ravandari also called on the Australian government to publish the full results of its investigations transparently and publicly.
In 2017, Australia’s ABC network released hundreds of pages of classified documents revealing that Australian special forces had killed civilians, including children, in Uruzgan province.
One document alleged that Australian soldiers killed a 14 or 15-year-old boy in 2012 and concealed the incident. The documents also referred to investigations into the killing of a man named Basimullah and his six-year-old son by Australian soldiers in 2013.
In 2019, the Australian government confirmed in a report that its forces had unlawfully killed 39 people in Afghanistan.
At the time, General Angus Campbell, a senior official in Australia’s Department of Defence, stated that 25 members of the special forces were involved in these killings and that “none occurred in the heat of battle.”
International human rights organizations and Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission have called for the prosecution of perpetrators and compensation for victims.
