Defence Minister Stephen Smith has rejected concerns raised by a Sydney-based advocacy group over allegations that Australian forces in Afghanistan mistreated Afghan detainees in their custody.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre has obtained a report, under freedom of information laws, detailing claims by Afghan detainees that they were subjected to humiliating public searches of groin and buttocks areas, as well as poor food and cold cells.
However, Mr Smith claims comparable seaches occur in police lock-ups around Australia and the federal opposition claims some militants could be fabricating their complaints.
Michael Kenny reports.
The allegations have been put forward by Afghan detainees captured by the Australian Defence Force and held at a United States military prison near Bagram air base between 2010 and last year.
Along with the allegations of invasive body searches, the detainees also claim that the warmest blankets were kept back as a reward for the best-behaved prisoners on freezing winter nights.
There were also complaints about water quality, lack of progress in having cases reviewed, medical problems and long waiting lists for dental work.
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre says the documents have been heavily censored by the Defence Department in a report released on its website.
The centre's Chief Executive Officer Edward Santow believes the department should be more transparent, particularly given Australia's stated commitment to international human rights conventions.
"Australia, under international law, must ensure that detainees are treated humanely and Australia has this obligation even after transferring detainees to one of its allies- like the U-S or Afghanistan and some of the documents raise very concerning things like invasive body searches conducted in public and that sort of thing and they clearly raise serious concerns and need to be investigated further."
In statement to parliament, Defence Minister Stephen Smith has strongly defended the actions of Australian forces in Afghanistan.
He says that from August 2010 to mid-May 2013, there have been almost 200 allegations of mistreatment against Australian forces in Afghanistan.
Mr Smith says almost all have been assessed as being unfounded, although five remain under review.
He believes the Australian public should therefore be proud of their troops' record in Afghanistan.
"Australia approaches its responsibility for treating detainees with dignity and respect, with the utmost seriousness and its committed to managing detention matters in accordance with our domestic and international legal obligations. Australia's detainee management framework for Afghanistan has two priorities- first, removing insurgents from the battlefield where they endanger Australian, Afghan and ISAF* lives and secondly to ensure the humane treatment of detainees consistent with Australia's domestic and international legal obligations."
Mr Smith says Australia has also demonstrated that it is prepared to take strong action when allies mistreat detainees in Afghanistan.
He says Australia has halted transfers of detainees to the Afghan-run detention facility in Tarin Kowt following concerns from Australian officials over prisoner abuse there in March.
Mr Smith says he was aware of the reports citing complaints by detainees captured by Australian soldiers and held in the U-S facility at Bagram.
However he believes there is a distinct difference between complaints about conditions and actual mistreatment and he believes all detainees held by Australian troops have been treated humanely in Afghanistan.
"International humanitarian law provides the basis for Australia's detainee management framework in Afghanistan. The ADF has built a reputation over the years for professionalism. The ADF has prided itself on its high standards and it has a well regarded international reputation for doing so."
The federal opposition's spokesman on defence personnel, Stuart Robert, has backed Mr Smith's remarks, saying he believes the Australian Defence Force is open and accountable for its actions in Afghanistan.
He says it is understandable that 175 of the 193 complaints related to treatment or an incident at the point of capture when militants would be most likely to complain about the conduct of Australian forces when they were resisting capture.
Mr Robert has told parliament, he questions the motives behind some of the militants' complaints.
"The insurgents that we fight continue to fabricate stories even when conclusive closed circuit TV footage shows that what they are saying is absolutely, culpably and completely untrue. Again you can hardly find a greater dichotomy between the way we prosecute operations and the way our insurgents prosecute theirs."
However Edward Santow from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre believes both sides of Australian politics have not been transparent enough about the nation's military operations in Afghanistan.
Until there is more openness, Mr Santow believes the public can not make a firm judgement on whether Australia is meeting its international human rights obligations there.
"We think that the Department of Defence should be commended for making available the documents that they have. But also they should be strongly encouraged to be more transparent about the allegations of mistreatment and the investigations that have taken place. Clearly if nothing untoward has taken place, then there's really very little in the way of national security and privacy that should stand in the way from being transparent about those investigations."
