Two Years On, Afghan War Victims Await Compensation Amidst Criticism

According to the Australian publication “The Saturday Paper,” it has been two years since the proposal for compensation to Afghan war victims was introduced, yet no payments have been made to those affected.

Failure to Compensate Afghan Victims

The “Saturday Paper” has reported that despite two years passing since the compensation scheme for Afghan war victims was proposed, not a single payment has been disbursed to the war’s victims. The report reveals that 105 compensation applications have been filed, but 45 of these have been rejected due to ineligibility.

Details of the Compensation Scheme

In 2023, following the controversial Bereton Report, the Australian government established a framework to compensate victims and families of individuals who were unlawfully killed or injured by Australian special forces. This report provided detailed documentation of unlawful killings of 39 civilians in 23 separate incidents and emphasized that compensation should not be contingent upon a judicial ruling.

Challenges in Receiving Compensation

According to Australian Department of Defence documents, since the activation of the compensation system in early November 2023, no applicant has successfully received compensation. Gulam Jelani, one of the victims who was injured during an Australian military operation in Urozgan province in 2006, stated that his application was denied because his name was not included in the Bereton Report. Other victims’ families are experiencing similar challenges.

Legal Scrutiny and Criticisms

Kimberly Matley, an international lawyer, along with a group of human rights experts, have criticized the assessment process for these cases as slow and opaque. They believe that limiting compensation to the incidents mentioned in the Bereton Report denies justice to many true victims of war crimes.