Calling the U.S. airstrike on its hospital in Kunduz an “attack on the Geneva Conventions,” Doctors Without Borders is asking for an independent investigation by a never-before used international commission.
The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission has been around since 1991, and it requires one of the 76 nations that have signed on to it for it to begin its work. Its job is to investigate whether international humanitarian law has been violated.
Doctors Without Borders — also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF — has repeatedly said it believes the bombing was a war crime.
“Governments up to now have been too polite or afraid to set a precedent,” Dr. Joanne Liu, president of Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday. “The tool exists and it is time it is activated.”
The attack in the embattled city Saturday killed 12 medical staff members and at least 10 patients, three of them children — “the biggest loss of life for our organization in an airstrike,” Liu said.
Another 37 people were wounded, according to the global charity group, which works in conflict zones to help victims of war and other tragedies.
Gen. John Campbell, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, has said the hospital in Kunduz was struck accidentally during an American air strike Saturday.
The Pentagon is carrying out an investigation, as is NATO and Afghanistan.
“If errors were committed, we will acknowledge them,” Campbell said. “We will hold those responsible accountable, and we will take steps to ensure mistakes are not repeated.”
Doctors Without Borders wants a full and transparent investigation by an independent agency.
“Their description of the attack keeps changing — from collateral damage, to a tragic incident, to now attempting to pass responsibility to the Afghanistan government,” the group said.
The United States has changed its account of what resulted in the air strike a few times.
First it said, initial reports indicated the airstrike was called to protect U.S. forces. Then it said, Afghan forces called for the air support because the Afghans were taking fire.
“Today, we say, ‘Enough,'” Liu said.
“Today we are fighting back for the respect of the Geneva Conventions. As doctors, we are fighting back for the sake of our patients.”
The United States is not one of the states that have recognized the commission.
