Court gets 1.17 million war-crime claims from Afghans

KABUL — Since the International Criminal Court began collecting material three months ago for a possible war-crimes case involving Afghanistan, it has received a staggering 1.17 million statements from Afghans who say they were victims.

The statements include accounts of alleged atrocities not only by groups like the Taliban and the Islamic State, but also involving Afghan Security Forces and government-affiliated warlords, the U.S.-led coalition, and foreign and domestic spy agencies, said Abdul Wadood Pedram of the Human Rights and Eradication of Violence Organization.

Based in part on the many statements, ICC judges in The Hague would then have to decide whether to seek a war-crimes investigation. It’s uncertain when that decision will be made.

The statements were collected between Nov. 20, 2017, and Jan. 31, 2018, by organizations based in Europe and Afghanistan and sent to the ICC, Pedram said. Because one statement might include multiple victims and one organization might represent thousands of victim statements, the number of Afghans seeking justice from the ICC could be several million. “It is shocking there are so many,” Pedram said, noting that in some instances, whole villages were represented.

“It shows how the justice system in Afghanistan is not bringing justice for the victims and their families.”

The ICC did not give details about the victims or those providing the information.

“I have the names of the organizations, but because of the security issues, we don’t want to name them because they will be targeted,” said Pedram, whose group is based in Kabul.

Many of the representations include statements involving multiple victims, which could be the result of suicide bombings, targeted killings or air strikes, he said.

Established in 2002, the ICC is the world’s first permanent court set up to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The ICC can investigate only crimes in Afghanistan after May 2003, when the country ratified the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton signed the treaty. But Clinton’s successor, president George W. Bush, renounced the signature, citing fears that Americans would be unfairly prosecuted for political reasons.