Jacqui Lambie calls for International Criminal Court investigation into Australian Defence Force
Jacqui Lambie has sensationally called for Australian Defence Force leaders to be investigated by the International Criminal Court. Here’s what will happen next.
National
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Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has sensationally called for the International Criminal Court to investigate Australian Defence Force leadership for potential war crimes in Afghanistan.
Ms Lambie told the Senate on Tuesday she had referred the matter to the International Criminal Court war crimes prosecutor in The Hague under Article 15.
The veteran senator, who served in the army for 11 years, tried to table documents in the Senate relating to the international court referral.
Despite her bid to suspend standing orders being rejected, Ms Lambie said Aussie Diggers had been “thrown under the bus” by top ADF officials in relation to Australian war crimes investigations.
“Like the Chief of the Defence Force and the top brass, the government is no doubt hoping this will just go away,” Lambie said in the Senate on Tuesday.
“They’re hoping that Australians will forget when alleged war crimes in Afghanistan were investigated.
“Our senior commanders got a free pass while their Diggers were thrown under the bus. Well, we don’t forget. I won’t forget. Lest we forget.
“There is a culture of cover up at the highest levels of the Australian Defence Force. It is the ultimate boys’ club.”
In the wake of the Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation case against multiple media outlets, Ms Lambie said the ADF leadership knew alleged war crimes “this went way beyond patrols”.
“The International Criminal Court is a court of last resort,” she said.
“It isn’t an easy task to get them to investigate … in this case, Australia has failed to investigate high command for their breach of duty.”
Major General Paul Brereton exempted senior defence commanders from his war crimes investigation, which released a redacted report in 2020.
Ms Lambie’s lawyer, Glenn Kolomeitz, said the ICC had been given the Article 15 communication about the command responsibility into the ADF on Tuesday.
“It’s now obviously in the hands of the prosecutor,” Mr Kolomeitz said.
“One of the prosecutors policy as part of the Article 15 process is to refer it back to the state party, so in this case back to Australia for consideration.”
Mr Kolomeitz said the next step in the process will be a matter for the ICC prosecutor and the Australian government.
“The onus will be on the Australian government to give some serious consideration as to why Australia has not investigated the command responsibility aspects of the Afghanistan allegations and what they’re going to do about it,” he said.
“If Australia does nothing about it, the ICC can potentially assume jurisdiction over the higher command and exercise the higher command investigation from the ongoing investigation of junior soldiers.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles said he’d received the Brereton report and was seeking advice on the next steps.
“The service which Justice Brereton has done is that he’s given us an opportunity to deal with this and our government intends to do this,” Mr Marles said.
“We seek to implement the recommendations of the Brereton report to the fullest possible extent.
“Australia is holding itself accountable.”
Mr Marles said the Chief of the Defence Force “has been pursuing a process in respect of command accountability” as per recommended within the Bererton report.
“That process has turned to a number of recommendations that sit on my desk, and I am seeking the appropriate advice,” he said.
“The allegations that are at the heart of this are very serious and very grave but through the recommendations of the Brereton report our government will seek to make this right.
“We regard this very seriously.”
Greens senator for NSW, David Shoebridge, supported Ms Lambie’s ICC referral on Tuesday.
He said “external accountability measures” needed to be put in place if the ADF can’t take responsibility.
We’ve now reviewed the @JacquiLambie referral to the Intl Criminal Court.
— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) June 20, 2023
If the ADF won’t act to hold those in command responsible, we need to find external accountability measures.
It’s wrong that those in the ADF with the most responsibility have the least accountability pic.twitter.com/Rv6ZcP8SI6
Sky News Australia reported the Chief of the ADF had given consideration to “command accountability” and briefed Mr Marles.
“The Chief of the Defence Force has considered the command accountability of ADF members who held command positions during the periods in which the Inspector-General of the ADF found credible information of incidents of alleged unlawful conduct,” Mr Marles said in a statement provided to Sky News Australia.
“The CDF has presented relevant material to the Deputy PM for consideration. The Deputy PM in his capacity as Defence Minister is considering the recommendations & seeking advice as appropriate.”
Originally published as Jacqui Lambie calls for International Criminal Court investigation into Australian Defence Force
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