By Sara Colm, Senior Researcher on Cambodia for Human Rights Watch
Published in Asahi Shinbum
May 1, 2008
The long-delayed court process to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to justice is underway in Cambodia. The hybrid tribunal made of both Cambodian and international judges, officially called the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), was established to try those most responsible for the deaths of as many as two million Cambodians during their four-year rule, which ended in 1979.
On a recently held on-site investigation, three remaining prison survivors were brought face-to-face with Kaing Gech Eav (Duch), the former chief of the regime's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, where more than 14,000 people were tortured and executed.
Though the tribunal has started to move forward, for the ECCC to successfully find justice for the victims of Khmer Rouge atrocities, it must overcome several major hurdles.
Cambodia's judiciary is widely known for its lack of independence and corruption, and for most Cambodians, a courthouse is not a place to seek justice.
Often the accused do not have access to a lawyer. Judges have been known to arbitrarily refuse to admit defense evidence and issue verdicts written in advance of trials. In politically sensitive cases, judges receive instructions from senior government figures.
In contrast, the ECCC is expected to meet international standards of justice. However, the majority of its 19 judges are Cambodian. The UN initially opposed the arrangement, fearing that the Cambodian government would try to manipulate the tribunal. The tribunal’s office of administration is split into a Cambodian-administered side and a UN side, with serious allegations of corruption plaguing the Cambodian side including wage kickbacks to the Cambodian government.
In this context, what needs to be done for a fair trial? Chief among the issues yet to be resolved is how far the ECCC will be willing to go in following the evidence and identifying additional individuals to investigate and prosecute. So far, five former Khmer Rouge leaders have been detained including Duch. ECCC budget projections presented to the donors in January indicate that at most three more individuals may be prosecuted.
However, can the ECCC be credible if it only tries a pre-selected handful of individuals? Many former Khmer Rouge government officials and senior military officials continue to live freely.
Donors should insist that the ECCC promptly implement proper witness and victim protection programs, without which prosecutions will be hard to conduct.
Donors should also support the ECCC so that their international investigators can carry out thorough investigations needed to bring additional accused to justice and to enable victims to participate the process.
As Japan and other international donor countries now consider a request for an additional US$170 million, they should insist upon significant reforms including conditioning their pledge on the ECCC improving its transparency and addressing the alleged corruption charges. Japan, which has already made significant contributions to the ECCC’s budget to date, and has one judge sitting in the ECCC’s supreme court chamber, is uniquely position to lead the call for reform.
Only if key donors insist on all possible safeguards will it be possible for the Khmer Rouge tribunal to deliver to Cambodians the justice for which they have long been waiting.
Published in Asahi Shinbum
May 1, 2008
The long-delayed court process to bring Khmer Rouge leaders to justice is underway in Cambodia. The hybrid tribunal made of both Cambodian and international judges, officially called the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), was established to try those most responsible for the deaths of as many as two million Cambodians during their four-year rule, which ended in 1979.
On a recently held on-site investigation, three remaining prison survivors were brought face-to-face with Kaing Gech Eav (Duch), the former chief of the regime's notorious Tuol Sleng prison, where more than 14,000 people were tortured and executed.
Though the tribunal has started to move forward, for the ECCC to successfully find justice for the victims of Khmer Rouge atrocities, it must overcome several major hurdles.
Cambodia's judiciary is widely known for its lack of independence and corruption, and for most Cambodians, a courthouse is not a place to seek justice.
Often the accused do not have access to a lawyer. Judges have been known to arbitrarily refuse to admit defense evidence and issue verdicts written in advance of trials. In politically sensitive cases, judges receive instructions from senior government figures.
In contrast, the ECCC is expected to meet international standards of justice. However, the majority of its 19 judges are Cambodian. The UN initially opposed the arrangement, fearing that the Cambodian government would try to manipulate the tribunal. The tribunal’s office of administration is split into a Cambodian-administered side and a UN side, with serious allegations of corruption plaguing the Cambodian side including wage kickbacks to the Cambodian government.
In this context, what needs to be done for a fair trial? Chief among the issues yet to be resolved is how far the ECCC will be willing to go in following the evidence and identifying additional individuals to investigate and prosecute. So far, five former Khmer Rouge leaders have been detained including Duch. ECCC budget projections presented to the donors in January indicate that at most three more individuals may be prosecuted.
However, can the ECCC be credible if it only tries a pre-selected handful of individuals? Many former Khmer Rouge government officials and senior military officials continue to live freely.
Donors should insist that the ECCC promptly implement proper witness and victim protection programs, without which prosecutions will be hard to conduct.
Donors should also support the ECCC so that their international investigators can carry out thorough investigations needed to bring additional accused to justice and to enable victims to participate the process.
As Japan and other international donor countries now consider a request for an additional US$170 million, they should insist upon significant reforms including conditioning their pledge on the ECCC improving its transparency and addressing the alleged corruption charges. Japan, which has already made significant contributions to the ECCC’s budget to date, and has one judge sitting in the ECCC’s supreme court chamber, is uniquely position to lead the call for reform.
Only if key donors insist on all possible safeguards will it be possible for the Khmer Rouge tribunal to deliver to Cambodians the justice for which they have long been waiting.
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