Joseph Craig
The allegations were exposed by ABC who claimed that they received leaked information that confirms Afghan civilians, including women and children, got killed by the Defence Force members.
The ABC stated that there is a certain document that specifically demonstrates established cultural differences within the Australian Defence Force members. The ABC has stated that they are currently investigating possible unlawful killings.
ALHR’s spokesman, Hector Sharp, said that he’s deeply shocked with the reports published yesterday by the ABC.
“The report released by ABC was deeply shocking and we understand the allegations could comprise serious infringement of the international humanitarian law,” said Hector Sharp.
He added that if confirmed, then the Defence Force members will have caused a great breach of IHL.
The allegations are extremely serious because they show how negligent and reckless the Australian soldiers are. The reason behind this is simply because they were reckless to the extent of causing a large number of deaths among Afghan civilians.
We urge the Inspector-General of the ADF and the Australian Federal Police to carry out an investigation on the allegations reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation,” said Mr. Sharp.
The ALHR spokesman also added that the organisation is mainly concerned by an event which took place back in 2012 that saw an Afghan teenager Khan Mohammed get shot.
ALHR said that there was need for military targets to be distinguished from civilians and civilian objects. This way, they can easily stay away from danger and military targets. The IHL said that this tactic is known as the principle of distinction.
As a matter of fact, war crime may arise as a result of intentionally directing attacks against civilians.
It is considered unlawful to use force targeted at civilians without distinguishing them from military targets.
There is no flexible approach when it comes to application of crucial IHL principles. However, defence forces should ensure that they don’t cause disproportionate civilian casualties.
