UN Responds to Gov't Request for Dialogue on ECCC

Thursday, December 21, 2006

By Erika Kinetz
THE CAMBODIA DAILY

The UN has responded to a government request to open a dialogue to resolve the acrimonious dispute over the defense support section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and its principal defender, Rupert Skilbeck.

In extracts of the UN's formal response provided by the ECCC on Tuesday, Nicolas Michel, undersecretary general for legal affairs at the UN in New York, said the international body shares the Cambodian government's concerns, and is confident that the issues can be resolved.

In a Dec 5 letter to Michel, Cabinet Minister Sok An said the defense support section had been created without adequate consultation with the Cambodian government. Sok An also took Skilbeck to task for making several "unilateral decisions."

Sok An's letter had prompted fears that the government was attempting to resume political-level negotiations over the future of the long-awaited tribunal.

The UN's response to Sok An appeared to focus on the details of technical discussions during the three-year history of talks between the UN and the Cambodian government on the establishment of a defense support unit. Sok An's letter had implied that the currents plans for the defense office, and Skilbeck's role in it, had not been properly outlined during the years of talks between Phnom Penh and the UN.

In his response, Michel referred to a UN report based on a December 2003 UN mission to Cambodia, which discusses the structure and staffing of "a small semi-autonomous unit, loosely linked to the office of administration" that would provide "basic legal assistance and support."

According to the extract, Michel also noted that the vacancy announcement for the job of principal defender—Skilbeck—was publicly advertised in January 2006, and said the UN is confident that with a "positive and cooperative frame of mind" the issues can be resolved.

The ECCC declined to release the full version of Michel's letter.

"Clarification was requested by the government of Cambodia," said Peter Foster, the international public affairs officer of the ECCC. "That clarification has been provided."

Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the fracas over the defense support section and Skilbeck were matters for the ECCC to resolve. "From the government we say, 'please speed up,'" he said. "But we cannot interfere."

Any suggestion of government interference, he said, could be used by Khmer Rouge defendants to undermine the authority of the court.

Asked why Sok An had written to the UN, Khieu Kanharith said, "I am not Sok An's spokesman."

Sok An could not be reached for comment.

Sean Visoth, director of the court's office of administration, did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

Youk Chhang, executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said he hoped the matter could be resolved on a technical rather than a political level.

"We have made room for political influence now, which should not have happened," he said. "Time is expensive and it will take time to resolve this."

Sara Colm, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, emphasized the need for a vigorous defense to ensure a fair trial.

"A Defense Office headed by a qualified international lawyer with experience in other international or mixed tribunals is best placed to guarantee this by making sure that qualified and independent defense lawyers are fully and unconditionally available to suspects," she wrote in an e-mail.