Labor to block bill protecting British soldiers from prosecution
The opposition Labor party is putting pressure on the government to stop the introduction of a bill which would severely restrict prosecutions of British soldiers on war crimes charges.
As part of this effort, the shadow defense secretary, John Healey, has written to his counterpart, Ben Wallace, arguing the proposed legislation is inimical to “the history and rules-based international order that Britain has sought to construct and maintain”.
The government’s proposed Overseas Operations Bill, which is expected to be introduced to the House of Commons in September, introduces a “statutory presumption against prosecution” after five years to apply to all service personnel, notably those who have fought in recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Healey has mounted his opposition to the bill on the premise that by effectively amnestying torture and war crimes it breaches both the Geneva Conventions and the UN convention against torture.
“This clearly creates the risk that serious violations could go unpunished … if an incident does not come to light for five years or if investigations are drawn out beyond that deadline”, Healey said.
The introduction of the Overseas Operations Bill comes against the backdrop of mounting evidence that British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan committed multiple acts of war crimes over prolonged periods.
Only a few weeks an investigation by BBC Panorama revealed that British Special Forces in Afghanistan “routinely” committed war crimes by shooting dead unarmed civilians.
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