War crimes probe ‘put at risk’

Closing the embassy in Kabul could impede investigations into alleged war crimes by ADF troops.

Office of the Special Investigator director-general Chris Moraitis. Picture: Sean Davey

Australia’s decision to close its embassy in Afghanistan by the end of this week could impede investigations into alleged war crimes by ADF troops who served there, the Office of the Special Investigator has warned.

Scott Morrison on Tuesday confirmed a report in The Australian that the embassy in Kabul would close this month and its diplomats revert to a fly in, fly out presence from a nearby regional base (likely the UAE) because of the uncertain security situation as the last foreign troops leave the country.

The Prime Minister said the departure of US, NATO and Australian forces from Afghanistan by September 11 meant “security arrangements could not be provided to support our ongoing diplomatic presence”, although he expected the move to be temporary and for a permanent presence in Kabul to be restored when “circumstances permit”.

The Afghan government on Tuesday rejected claims it could not provide sufficient security for foreign missions and diplomats, saying it had been consulting foreign embassies over their security needs for more than six months.

“We obviously respect Australia’s decision (but) Afghanistan and the office of the National Security Council have been holding ongoing consultations with the diplomatic community to hear all concerns in the lead-up to the full troop withdrawal, and address how we as a host nation can fulfil our obligations under the Vienna Convention,” Ahmad Shuja Jamal, International Affairs director-general for the NSC, said.

“Our allies have asked for specific measures. We have granted all of those, and offered all assistance in every specific case. We are working continually with our diplomatic partners, including the US and NATO, to address any outstanding issues of concern with respect to diplomatic security.”

The Afghan Foreign Ministry also emphasised its commitment to securing all foreign embassies, but thanked Australia for its “comprehensive support and co-operation with Afghanistan”.

“We hope, as mentioned in the Australian government statement, that this measure will be temporary and Australia will soon resume its permanent presence in Afghanistan,” it said.

The Australian understands a joint Afghan and NATO security briefing to foreign diplomats on Tuesday was expected to address some of Canberra’s security concerns by outlining plans for continuing NATO security support at Bagram and for the government to establish a comparable trauma care centre at Kabul airport.

Australia is the first nation to pull its diplomats from Afghanistan ahead of September’s troop withdrawal but may not be the last, with one Kabul-based foreign defence official telling the news organisation Agence France-Presse that “several other embassies will follow Australia in the coming weeks or months”.

OSI director-general Chris Moraitis told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday that closing the embassy could make it more difficult to prepare briefs of evidence into the alleged unlawful killing of 39 Afghan prisoners and civilians by Special Forces soldiers between 2005 and 2016.

“Clearly having access to Afghanistan and witnesses in Afghanistan is important, therefore the closure of an embassy would not be ideal. However, we have contingencies to deal with and we look forward to what comes in the future,” Mr Moraitis said.

Mr Morrison said on Tuesday he was proud of Australia’s work over the past 20 years assisting “Afghanistan in protecting itself from exploitation as a base for terrorist groups, to address inequality and to contribute to improvements in the rights and livelihoods of women and girls”, and was committed to preserve those gains.

Labor has demanded the government say how it intends to meet its stated ongoing commitment to Afghanistan, weeks after pledging continued support through its “diplomatic presence, development co-operation program, and continued people-to-people links”.