Cambodia and the United Nations (UN) on Friday formally agreed to establish a tribunal to try surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge for genocide and crimes against humanity.
At a ceremony in the capital’s Chaktomuk Theater, Hans Corell, the head of the UN’s Office for Legal Affairs, signed the deal with Cambodia’s Senior Minister Sok An. The signing, toasted with champagne, was watched by around 700 dignitaries, diplomats and guests.
In his address Corell thanked the Cambodian side for its co-operation, while noting that the negotiations ”have not been easy”. But, he said, the signing marked the end of one phase to bring justice to the Cambodian people, and the beginning of another to ensure the court was properly set up.
”With this step, the quest of the Cambodian people for justice, national reconciliation, stability, peace and security is brought closer to realisation,” said Corell. ”[I]f the political will is there, these steps can be taken quickly.”
Cambodia first approached the UN for assistance in setting up a tribunal six years ago, but the negotiating process has been characterised by mistrust on both sides. The UN was concerned that the country’s weak and corrupt courts would prove unequal to the task, while the Cambodians felt the UN’s attitude was patronising and unfair.
In February 2002 the UN’s Office of Legal Affairs finally lost patience and pulled out of the process, but it was compelled to re-enter negotiations late last year when the member states of the General Assembly instructed the world body to try again. The current deal is the result of that pressure.
Sok An pointed out that the venue for the signing ceremony was coincidentally the same place where the only Khmer Rouge genocide trial to date has been held. The 1979 show trial in absentia of then-Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot and his Foreign Minister Leng Sary was regarded as flawed by the international community, not least because of Cold War tensions.
The tribunal that will now take place will certainly be held up to much closer scrutiny. The unique ‘mixed tribunal’ format will see Cambodian and foreign judges hearing cases. The local judges will be in the majority, but at least one foreign judge will need to concur for a ruling to be binding.
Sok An used the occasion to remember the countless victims of the Khmer Rouge state, known formally as Democratic Kampuchea.
”On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I pledge to the souls of those who perished, to their surviving relatives and friends, and to all our people who suffered during the terrible period of three years, eight months and twenty days, to continue our efforts to reach a satisfactory legal and historical accounting of the period of Democratic Kampuchea,” he said.
The government will now forward the agreement to Parliament for what observers say will be a formal stamp of approval. However that is unlikely to happen until later this year, as most legislators are preparing for the general election, which is scheduled for July 27.
The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. Scholars believe at least 1,7-million people were murdered or died of starvation, disease, and overwork in that period. Pol Pot died in 1998, but most of the remaining ten or twelve leaders are still alive and will likely be brought to trial.