KABUL (TOLOnews): The Australian government has appointed Ruth McCall as the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Advocate to facilitate compensation for victims of war crimes committed by its forces in Afghanistan.
According to a statement from Australia’s Ministry of Defense, compensation to victims’ families will be provided in both monetary and non-monetary forms.
Richard Marles, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, described the appointment of this counsel as an important step toward addressing the findings of a report released in 2020 by Australian judge Paul Brereton.
The Deputy Prime Minister added: “The appointment of the Hon Justice Ruth McColl as the Afghanistan Inquiry Compensation Scheme Advocate is another important step as we hold ourselves to account for the circumstances outlined in the Brereton Report.”
Ahmad Khan Andar, a military affairs expert, said: “Last year, Australia announced that its soldiers would be brought to justice, but unfortunately, in the current political and military climate of the world, they are mostly showcasing democracy.”
In his 2020 report, Paul Brereton revealed details of war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, which resulted in the deaths of 39 Afghan civilians.
Janan, a survivor of foreign forces’ war crimes, said: “The men and women who were attacked had their hair and clothes burned.”
Saifullah, another survivor of war crimes by foreign forces, said: “We call on the International Court to bring them to justice and ensure fairness because they inflicted great harm on us and carried out many bombings.”
Previously, Australia sentenced David McBride, a former military lawyer, to five years and eight months in prison for leaking classified military documents about war crimes by Australia’s special forces in Afghanistan to journalists.
