Board of Inquiry Concluded - Allegation of assault of a civilian by Afghan National Security Forces

News Release

April 12, 2016 – Ottawa – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

A Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) inquiry has found no evidence to support allegations that CAF members in Afghanistan were told by superiors to ignore incidents where Afghan soldiers and interpreters sexually assaulted young boys.

Indeed, “this accusation was vehemently denied by every CF member interviewed,” the Board of Inquiry (BOI) said in a report released today.

The inquiry noted that at the time the incidents were reported to have occurred, (2006-2007), “CF personnel were involved in a new, highly complex and dangerous mission,” and were “under constant and deadly attacks from a determined enemy.” But it also concluded “that overall the CF did not deal effectively with this issue.”

The BOI made a wide range of recommendations and these were broadly accepted by the approving authority. The CAF has already made significant progress in addressing many of the Board’s recommendations, as steps were taken as early as 2008 to begin rectifying the most pressing shortfalls. Some examples of actions taken by the CAF in the last number of years to address concerns raised by the BOI include:

• The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) issued direction in June 2008 to report and intervene if possible when witnessing the sexual abuse of children in Afghanistan;
• Improvements to pre-deployment training, including enhancing training on the law of armed conflict as well as improved cultural awareness training;
• Development of scenarios that require CAF personnel to analyze and act on ethical issues and international human rights violations, including reports of abuse of women and children in an area of operations;
• The CAF Code of Conduct is in the process of being amended to expand the current requirement for CAF personnel to report any violation of the Law of Armed Conflict to include direction to report sexual assault upon children and potentially other vulnerable populations;
• In 2013, the CAF issued a new Code of Values and Ethics;
• The BOI recommendations will be considered in a wider review of the Use of Force Manual;
• In January 2016, the CAF launched an initiative to further integrate gender perspectives into the analysis, planning, execution and evaluation of all CAF operations, as well as professional military education and training; and
• Over the past 10 years, the CAF has made tremendous strides in supporting military personnel who suffer from mental health conditions such as major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The CAF introduced mental resilience training in 2009 through the Road to Mental Readiness program–helping to ensure that personnel and their families are best equipped for the stressors associated with deployment.

The scope and complexity of the recommendations made by the Board were a significant factor in the length of time it took to review and approve the BOI report.  Competing CAF priorities also impacted the completion time, which was offset by the fact that several initiatives were addressing the most pressing shortfalls in the interim period. 

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Related Products

• Backgrounder: Board of Inquiry – Allegation of assault of a civilian by Afghan National Security Forces and the Canadian Forces Response to such incidents
• Executive Summary (Redacted Version) – Board of Inquiry – Allegation of assault of a civilian by Afghan National Security Forces and the Canadian Forces Response to such incidents.

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Department of National Defence
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Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca

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