The International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized last Thursday an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan by US armed forces, the CIA, the Taliban and Afghan security forces. The ruling, which was rejected by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as “reckless”, marked the first time the court’s prosecutor has been cleared to investigate US forces.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda sought authorization in November 2017 to open an investigation into crimes connected to the conflict in Afghanistan.

According to Associated Press, Bensouda asked judges in November 2017 to authorize a far-reaching investigation after a preliminary probe in Afghanistan that lasted more than a decade. She said there is information that members of the US military and intelligence agencies “committed acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence against conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and other locations, principally in the 2003-2004 period.”

On Thursday, the ICC Appeals Chamber ruled unanimously in favor of allowing the investigation. Bensouda's initial request for authorization to open the investigation was denied in April 2019. At that time, the three-judge panel "concluded that an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan at this stage would not serve the interests of justice."

157,000 precious lives were reportedly lost in Afghanistan, of whom 43,000 were civilians. But the actual number of casualities is much higher than this. The use of the most lethal weapons, advanced tactics, and especially airstrikes has caused a great deal of damage. The amount of explosives used in Afghanistan is much greater than the total used in World War I and World War II combined. The whole country has been turned into a barren land. The environment has been damaged, agriculture has been damaged, infrastructure has been damaged, and life has been made more difficult. Due to heavy bombing and shelling, life has been halted. There are no economic activities, no agriculture, no education, no health care facilities, indirectly causing the country irreversible losses due to the direct consequences of violence and the breakdown of public health, security, and infrastructure brought about by war. Civilians have been killed by crossfire, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), assassinations, bombings, and night raids into houses of suspected insurgents. Even in the absence of fighting, unexploded ordnance from previous wars and US cluster bombs continue to kill.

In this prolonged war, children born under war clouds have grown up and had their own children. This is now the 3rd or 4th generation facing war.

The International Court of Justice (ICC) definitely has the right to bring to justice anyone who was involved in war crimes in Afghanistan. No one nation, no matter how strong it may be, is above the law. The UN Charter protects the rights of weaker nations, and if anyone is unable to protect their rights, the ICC should come forward to set an example, and establish deterrence for the future.

It is hoped that the ICC will move forward and go ahead with its mandate, and bring to justice all those involved in war crimes in Afghanistan. This will open the way for the trial of war crimes committed in Iraq, Libya, Syria and so on.

I believe it is time for the US not to condemn the ICC, but revise its policies and keep its own house in order.

The opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to People's Daily Online.

Zamir Ahmed Awan is a senior fellow with the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and a sinologist at the National University of Sciences and Technology in Pakistan.