By JOHN A. HALL
FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia
Eight months ago the United Nations-sponsored Khmer Rouge tribunal in Phnom Penh didn't look like it was worth funding. The United Nations Development Program, which distributes donor funds to the Cambodian side of the tribunal, had tried and failed to suppress an embarrassing audit, first revealed on these pages. The Open Society Justice Initiative's Phnom Penh office brought to light various irregularities at the tribunal, including damning allegations that Cambodian tribunal staff and judges were required to kickback part of their salaries to keep their jobs.
Now the cash is running out. This week, the tribunal is expected to ask donor nations for around $100 million to fund its activities for the next three years. Given the advanced age and poor health of the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge, the stakes are high. But the tribunal's progress over the past few months has been marked. It is now is worth funding.
Last year's audit noted grievous mismanagement, fiscal irregularities and grossly deficient staffing at the tribunal. In response to those complaints, hiring procedures have been improved and made more transparent. International managers now participate in evaluating Khmer staff; Cambodian appointees must meet the advertised minimum qualifications required for their positions, and the unqualified have been eased out. True, some reforms are more dubious, like the requirement that Cambodian staff sign a pledge stating their opposition to corruption at the tribunal. And the comical suggestion box set up for whistleblowers to report dereliction of duty remains unused. But the trend is generally in the right direction.
New senior managers show promise. Take Knut Rosandhaug, who last week took over as coordinator of U.N. assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials and deputy director of the tribunal administration. The pragmatic Norwegian lawyer boasts 20 years of experience in policy making, negotiation, program management, human rights and conflict negotiation. As a director at the U.N. mission in Kosovo, he won a reputation for knocking heads and getting results. He promises the same in Phnom Penh, where five senior Khmer Rouge leaders are – some 30 years after their alleged crimes – finally in the dock.
The tribunal's newly appointed "Special Expert," ex-Yugoslavia tribunal prosecutor David Tolbert, has also won plaudits – especially when it comes to the tribunal's much-maligned budget process. Having exhausted its woefully inadequate initial budget of $56 million, the tribunal submitted a new budget in January asking for an additional $114 million. Donor nations, reluctant to keep funding such a corrupted enterprise, tied their pledges to clear proof that their checks would not be squandered or stolen.
Mr. Tolbert has carved out better lines of communication between donors and the tribunal, after years of distrust and suspicion between them. He has also encouraged tribunal staff to adopt plans for increased fiscal and managerial transparency in order to keep cash pipelines flowing. The new budget, revised since January, will be formally proposed this week.
There remain good reasons to be skeptical of both the Cambodian government and the U.N. No investigation has ever been undertaken, for example, to address the kickback allegations. The Cambodians have insisted auditors found no such evidence. In fact the auditors did not investigate that issue, as it fell outside their mandate. Privately, international observers acknowledge that the Cambodian government will simply refuse to undertake such an investigation. One solution may be to ignore past allegations of corruption, while making clear that any future wrongdoing will not be tolerated. That's not a perfect solution, but it would allow the tribunal to move ahead and perform its work.
The greatest fear, of course, is "slippage"; the idea that the Cambodian side of the tribunal is on its best behavior because the donors are so focused on the issues of corruption and mismanagement, and will return to business as usual as soon as the magnifying glass is removed. The trick, then, will be to ensure that the good behavior is not fleeting, requiring airtight checks and balances to fend off the bad habits of old.
Despite these doubts, there is a growing sense in Phnom Penh that an important corner has been turned and that we may be witnessing the rebirth of a tribunal that deserves support.
Mr. Hall is an associate professor of law and director of the Center for Global Trade and Development at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California.
Now the cash is running out. This week, the tribunal is expected to ask donor nations for around $100 million to fund its activities for the next three years. Given the advanced age and poor health of the surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge, the stakes are high. But the tribunal's progress over the past few months has been marked. It is now is worth funding.
Last year's audit noted grievous mismanagement, fiscal irregularities and grossly deficient staffing at the tribunal. In response to those complaints, hiring procedures have been improved and made more transparent. International managers now participate in evaluating Khmer staff; Cambodian appointees must meet the advertised minimum qualifications required for their positions, and the unqualified have been eased out. True, some reforms are more dubious, like the requirement that Cambodian staff sign a pledge stating their opposition to corruption at the tribunal. And the comical suggestion box set up for whistleblowers to report dereliction of duty remains unused. But the trend is generally in the right direction.
New senior managers show promise. Take Knut Rosandhaug, who last week took over as coordinator of U.N. assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials and deputy director of the tribunal administration. The pragmatic Norwegian lawyer boasts 20 years of experience in policy making, negotiation, program management, human rights and conflict negotiation. As a director at the U.N. mission in Kosovo, he won a reputation for knocking heads and getting results. He promises the same in Phnom Penh, where five senior Khmer Rouge leaders are – some 30 years after their alleged crimes – finally in the dock.
The tribunal's newly appointed "Special Expert," ex-Yugoslavia tribunal prosecutor David Tolbert, has also won plaudits – especially when it comes to the tribunal's much-maligned budget process. Having exhausted its woefully inadequate initial budget of $56 million, the tribunal submitted a new budget in January asking for an additional $114 million. Donor nations, reluctant to keep funding such a corrupted enterprise, tied their pledges to clear proof that their checks would not be squandered or stolen.
Mr. Tolbert has carved out better lines of communication between donors and the tribunal, after years of distrust and suspicion between them. He has also encouraged tribunal staff to adopt plans for increased fiscal and managerial transparency in order to keep cash pipelines flowing. The new budget, revised since January, will be formally proposed this week.
There remain good reasons to be skeptical of both the Cambodian government and the U.N. No investigation has ever been undertaken, for example, to address the kickback allegations. The Cambodians have insisted auditors found no such evidence. In fact the auditors did not investigate that issue, as it fell outside their mandate. Privately, international observers acknowledge that the Cambodian government will simply refuse to undertake such an investigation. One solution may be to ignore past allegations of corruption, while making clear that any future wrongdoing will not be tolerated. That's not a perfect solution, but it would allow the tribunal to move ahead and perform its work.
The greatest fear, of course, is "slippage"; the idea that the Cambodian side of the tribunal is on its best behavior because the donors are so focused on the issues of corruption and mismanagement, and will return to business as usual as soon as the magnifying glass is removed. The trick, then, will be to ensure that the good behavior is not fleeting, requiring airtight checks and balances to fend off the bad habits of old.
Despite these doubts, there is a growing sense in Phnom Penh that an important corner has been turned and that we may be witnessing the rebirth of a tribunal that deserves support.
Mr. Hall is an associate professor of law and director of the Center for Global Trade and Development at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California.
8 comments:
to be in the international standard, all the important staffs have to be clean. If the tribunal allow bad practices to happen without punishment, how can we trust it. Remember that when there is opportunity, the corrupt officials will do it again... because they know that there is no punishment if it is uncovered.
The question is who's to blame, he person who's careless about a corrupted poor country, or the corrupted poor country itself? Doesn't anyone one really educated about these things?
I am Cambodian Victim, I request UN Tribunal to get some more fund to go a head with the Khmer Rouge case to fine out the justice & human right for around 3 millions was die during from 1975 to 1979 Pol Pot regime, I just want give some information to UN Tribunal that all the killing is A Yuon.Vietnamese hidden face the killing field, during that time my father was been killed by A Yuon and also one of my cousin brother also A Yuon killed during 1975 to 1979, before my cousin brother pass a way hes's also told all our relative know that A Yuon/Vietnamese so cruel they want kill Cambodian peoples have good education & rich peoples and A Yuon just want keep poor education easy to control behind and all the killing field A Yuon/Vietnamese hidden face the killing field, I just want to telling the UN Tribunal look after Khmer Rouge leaders case that one of my cousin brother he's already pass a way during 1975 to 1979 as his possition is A Yuon/Vietnamese secret/spy agent and he fine out the Yuon/Vietnamese so cruel he moved to work for CHINA other A Yuon know will arrest * killed him strange a way in 1977, I would like UN Tribunal help to fine justice & human right for all Cambodian peoples around 3 millions peoples already pass a way during 1975 to 1979, Cambodians peoples out side of Cambodia can say anything but feel sorry for my Cambodian normal peoples in side Cambodia can't say anything about the politice or say something A Yuon/Vietnamese behind Hun Sen if we say something may during night times have dracula to kill event when I goes to holiday in Cambodia I am alway take care myself & I do not say about A Yuon and Cambodian PM as I am so scare A Yuon/Vietnamese dracula to kill me, ah I am also to request UN Trbunal to proctecting all the Khmer Rouge 5 leaders and don't let them come out to stay out side of UN Tribunal detention if let them stay out side of UN Tribunal A Yuon/Vietnamese dracula will kill all Khmer Rouge leaders & when all Khmer Rouge leaders pass a way very hard to get more evidence, from Cambodian Victim in Australia not A Khmer/Yuon.
If you're seriously considering funding the KRT, please take time and go to some of the 'clubs' around Phnom Penh first. You'll see where the KRT staff is really spending the money--both local and int'l staff.
The Khmer rouge leaders will die before the KRT ends. Why don't we just shot them now.
I'll fund the 5 bullets needed.
KRT is just only decoyed!
How much money they(KRT stuffs) have already spent?
And how much money have they desperately need to put their pocket?
Money in the pocket sounds a lot better than to prosecute a useless dead snake.
if all 5 Khmer Rouge leaders die they still keep something behand and I am believing that all that secret keep in CHINA no one can touch it and A Yuon/Vietnamese can not touch too as CHINA so big for A Yuon/Vietnam take over, I just want to tell all A Yuon/Vietnamese know that Cambodia have a lot of real Cambodian living in around the world not easy to take Cambodia like Laos ok, event my cousin A Yuon secret agent/spy I am not work for A Yuon/Vietnamese secret agent at all and I am born in Cambodia I should to support & take care of Cambodia not dump like A Khmer/Yuon at all. I just want to let A Khmer/Yuon should be wake up not work for A Yuon one days after A Yuon stopp using you they will kill you for sure, for an example: my cousin brother work for A Yuon/Vietnames secret/spy agent after he saw A Yuon/Vietnamese so cruel and he moved work for CHINA secret agent after A Yuon/Vietnamese fine out they puted 3 long gun to my cousin brother head to kill strange a way, if A Yuon used one gun to killed him not easy because my cousin brother know Kung Fu, so A Yuon used 3 long gun the same time put to his head.
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