Description
UN reports and the Report of Inquiry conducted by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) provide statistics and document details showing that ADF personnel operating in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2013 engaged in criminal conduct causing the death of at least 89 civilians and combatants during the Afghanistan war. Although the Australian government has initiated a legal investigation giving the impression that it is determined to bring the responsible ones to justice, there is a growing need to analyse the problem of international crimes committed by international peace operations personnel beyond the legal field. The crimes allegedly committed by the Australian forces on the territory of Afghanistan are undoubtedly incompatible with international norms and standards. Yet, in accordance with Agamben’s theory of “state of exception”, the violations indicate a field where exception becomes the rule rather than being simply an exception to the rule. Through conversation with Agamben’s concepts of homo sacer and the state of exception whereby a domestic legislating body assumes an a priori validity above and outside the law, this paper argues that the international community as a versatile and ubiquitous power constructs states of exception and homines sacri in a similar fashion at the international level.
