Shocking allegations of British war crimes thought to have taken place in Afghanistan have cast a fresh light on the grisly history of the Afghan war, and the challenges ahead in the pursuit of justice for Afghan victims.
According to an investigation by the BBC, in 2010 and 2011 a unit of the British Special Forces carried out a series of raids in southern Afghanistan, in which at least 54 people were killed. The unit’s accounts of what happened were so suspicious they led some of its superiors to wonder whether the deceased were not, in fact, unarmed detainees or civilians, and whether their colleagues had not been pursuing a “deliberate policy” of cold-blooded murder.
But murder, when carried out by the hand of a soldier in the context of war, is not just murder. It is a war crime. The Rome Statute, the founding document of the International Criminal Court (ICC), allows for war crimes involving state signatories to the statute to be investigated by the ICC in the event that the state in question is unwilling or unable to carry out the investigation themselves.
Britain signed the Rome Statute in 1998. But none of its actions in Afghanistan or Iraq, where it has also been accused of war crimes, have ever been referred to the ICC because it, like other western countries involved in those wars, claims its armed forces can investigate themselves just fine. These new allegations, and a host of other developments surrounding war crimes in Afghanistan, may suggest otherwise.
In Britain, even the mere suggestion of war crimes must be referred to the Royal Military Police (RMP) for investigation. In this instance, they were not. Instead, the unit under suspicion was redeployed to Afghanistan a second time, during which it is accused of having unlawfully killed again. By 2013, the RMP had begun an investigation into what may have happened on the second deployment, but the Special Forces continued to withhold the evidence it had on the events of 2010 and 2011.
Over the next few years, the RMP investigated 600 alleged offences by British soldiers in Afghanistan. By 2019, the investigation ended and the Ministry of Defence said no evidence of criminality was ever found, even though RMP investigators have told the BBC they were obstructed by the military in the evidence-gathering process.
The unit under suspicion was redeployed to Afghanistan a second time, during which it is accused of having unlawfully killed again
The problem is not isolated to Britain. Australian Special Forces recently saw off a four-year inquiry that found “credible evidence” they murdered 39 Afghans. To date, the only person who has been charged was the military lawyer who blew the whistle on the alleged crimes in the first place.
And of course, there is the US, whose military and intelligence agency stand accused of unlawfully killing, torturing, transporting or imprisoning thousands of people. The ICC has been investigating US actions in Afghanistan ever since it was authorised to do so by the court’s Appeals Chamber in 2019.
It is worth noting that the Appeals Chamber’s decision did not single out the US; it gave the Chief Prosecutor a sweeping mandate to investigate all war crimes on Afghan soil by multiple parties –the US, the Afghan government, the Taliban and ISIS – that have occurred since 2003. But since then, the US has used all manner of intimidation and lawfare to snuff out any ICC probe into its actions – often with the complicity of the former Afghan government.
These tactics, it seems, worked. The ICC’s new Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced in a press release in September, shortly after the fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban, that he would “deprioritise” alleged crimes committed by the US and Afghan National Security Forces and focus solely on crimes committed by the Taliban and ISIS. As I have written previously, this will only serve the new Taliban-run Afghan government’s argument that the international community is acting against Afghans’ interests.
It also suggests the door to justice for Afghan war crimes victims is closed. But it may not be.
Little has been heard of Mr Khan’s Afghanistan investigation since his deprioritisation announcement. It was paused last year on the request of the pre-Taliban Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani, which asked the ICC to give it one year to show that it could, like its western allies, investigate its own soldiers itself. When that government fell, its request for a suspension was rendered moot.
But restarting the investigation is hardly in the interests of Mr Khan’s deprioritisation agenda. This is because it was suspended before any victims of western war crimes had a chance to litigate against Mr Khan’s deprioritisation decision. When it restarts, they might do so, and they might even win. The repeated efforts of western forces to dodge accountability for their actions would only help their claims.
More from Sulaiman Hakemy
Assisting Mr Khan’s delay is a tragicomedy of diplomatic errors involving his office, the UN and both the old and new Afghan governments. A pre-requisite for Mr Khan restarting his investigation is that he must inform Afghan authorities. But who exactly that is, in the ICC and UN’s eyes, is unclear. The Afghan embassy in the Hague, where the ICC is based, is loyal to Mr Ghani, and declined to speak on behalf of Kabul. When the UN forwarded Mr Khan’s request to the Afghan UN representative, they were given the same response. In their latest filing, ICC prosecutors asked the UN mission in Kabul to notify the authorities there, only for them to have passed the message back to the Afghan mission to the UN.
Eventually, however, Mr Khan will have to restart his investigation. And when he does, he will be unable to ignore the victims of any western crimes – let alone those allegedly carried out by the US. Their lawyers are already gearing up for the fight. According to one former employee in the ICC Office of the Prosecutor, who worked on the Afghanistan preliminary examination, at the time the court’s prosecutors assessed the evidence against non-US Nato members was too weak for investigation. Now, however, as British and Australian evidence shows, that is no longer the case.
And there is another potential curve ball Mr Khan may have to deal with. The previous Afghan government was under the patronage of the US. The new one is not. If the Taliban is investigated, it could, in its capacity as the new Afghan authority, write an official letter to the prosecutor accepting the ICC’s jurisdiction, request its own one-year deferral to give it time to investigate itself, and simultaneously make a referral for crimes committed by the West. In that instance, Mr Khan would probably be left with no choice: the tables would be turned, and his deprioritisation strategy would be out the window.
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
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Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
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What is a portfolio stress test?
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What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
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How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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MATCH INFO
Group B
Bayern Munich v Tottenham, midnight (Thursday)
The biogs
Name: Zinah Madi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and links
Nationality: Syrian
Family: Married, Mother of Tala, 18, Sharif, 14, Kareem, 2
Favourite Quote: “There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.”
Name: Razan Nabulsi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and Links
Nationality: Jordanian
Family: Married, Mother of Yahya, 3.5
Favourite Quote: A Chinese proverb that says: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends
Favourite singer: Adele
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
Scream%20VI
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Matt%20Bettinelli-Olpin%20and%20Tyler%20Gillett%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Melissa%20Barrera%2C%20Jasmin%20Savoy%20Brown%2C%20Jack%20Champion%2C%20Dermot%20Mulroney%2C%20Jenna%20Ortega%2C%20Hayden%20Panettiere%20and%20Courteney%20Cox%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
Most%20ODI%20hundreds
%3Cp%3E49%20-%20Sachin%20Tendulkar%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E47%20-%20Virat%20Kohli%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E31%20-%20Rohit%20Sharma%2C%20India%0D%3Cbr%3E30%20-%20Ricky%20Ponting%2C%20Australia%2FICC%0D%3Cbr%3E28%20-%20Sanath%20Jayasuriya%2C%20Sri%20Lanka%2FAsia%0D%3Cbr%3E27%20-%20Hashim%20Amla%2C%20South%20Africa%0D%3Cbr%3E25%20-%20AB%20de%20Villiers%2C%20South%20Africa%2FAfrica%0D%3Cbr%3E25%20-%20Chris%20Gayle%2C%20West%20Indies%2FICC%0D%3Cbr%3E25%20-%20Kumar%20Sangakkara%2C%20Sri%20Lanka%2FICC%2FAsia%0D%3Cbr%3E22%20-%20Sourav%20Ganguly%2C%20India%2FAsia%0D%3Cbr%3E22%20-%20Tillakaratne%20Dilshan%2C%20Sri%20Lanka%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
More coverage from the Future Forum
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Stage 2 results
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 04:18:18
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:02
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:04
4 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates
5 Rick Zabel (GER) Israel Start-Up Nation
General Classification
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 07:47:19
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:12
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:16
4 Nikolai Cherkasov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:17
5 Alexey Lutsensko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 00:00:19
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
MATCH INFO
Iceland 0 England 1 (Sterling pen 90 1)
Man of the match Kari Arnason (Iceland)
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
