GENEVA — An independent U.N. human rights investigator said Thursday that the U.S. is failing to properly investigate alleged war crimes committed by its soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Although some cases are investigated and lead to prosecutions, others aren’t or result in lenient sentences, Philip Alston, the U.N. Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, said in a report.
A spokesman for the U.S. mission in Geneva, Dick Wilbur, said Alston’s conclusions and recommendations would be reviewed closely.
"We support the independence and work of all U.N. special rapporteurs and meet regularly with those who examine issues in the U.S., including Mr. Alston,” he said.
Alston, a New York University law professor, stressed he saw no evidence on a recent trip to Afghanistan that U.S. forces were committing "widespread” abuses.
The U.S. military has conducted dozens of investigations into misconduct by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of which have resulted in trials and convictions.
by the associated press
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