Key Recommendations from this Report:
To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers:
· Take all available measures—including a country visit, the conduct of a full inquiry, and issuance of a report thereon—to assess the independence of judges at the ECCC, in particular of the co-investigating judges.
To the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia:
· Issue an analysis of the independence and impartiality of the ECCC as a tribunal, in order to assess the implementation of the fair trial rights guaranteed in the UN human rights treaties to which Cambodia is a party (such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). This can be done as a component of the office’s monitoring function and in the context of its focus on the ECCC’s legacy.
To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Cambodia:
· As a follow up to his September 2010 report, issue a thematic report on the ECCC focusing specifically on the independence and impartiality of ECCC judges and the ability of the court to operate as a model for the Cambodian national judiciary and to enhance the Cambodian people’s perception of justice.
To the UN Secretary-General:
· Initiate an internal investigation by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) into allegations that UN officials (a title which can include judges as well as other experts) have acted contrary to the code of conduct set out by the Secretary-General’s Bulletin of 2002 governing the status, basic rights, and duties of officials other than secretariat officials, and experts on mission.[1]
· Alternatively, to the extent that judges fall into the category of UN officials on mission and if the allegations raised in this report are considered not to fall within the OIOS’s mandate, the Secretary-General should appoint an independent panel of experts comprised of current and/or former judicial officers of international standing to determine whether judicial misconduct has occurred.
To the UN Special Expert on the ECCC, and to the UN Office of Legal Affairs:
· Intensify monitoring of the ECCC’s operations and to the extent that actions by either UN officials or the tribunal’s operations as a whole fundamentally undermine the integrity of the UN’s involvement—such as a failure to fully and genuinely investigate sensitive cases before the court—raise concerns with donors, and consider whether to advise the Secretary-General to withdraw from the ECCC if the situation is not rectified promptly.
To ECCC donors:
· Insist that the ECCC operate independently, fairly, transparently, and expeditiously, including in the resolution of the judicial investigations in Cases 003/004.
· Condition future funding to the ECCC on the receipt of independent reports by one or more of the special mandate holders or UN mechanisms identified above which clearly demonstrate that the ECCC and its judges are acting independently, impartially and with the integrity required of an international justice tribunal.
To all stakeholders in the ECCC and other interested parties:
· Write, email, and call the UN Secretary-General and the UN Office of Legal Affairs to insist that they increase efforts to ensure that the ECCC operates independently, expeditiously, transparently and fairly, including by performing full and genuine investigations into Cases 003/004.
· Write, email, and call donor governments to insist that further funds provided for the fulfillment of the ECCC’s mandate be conditioned upon the receipt of independent reports by one or more of the special mandate holders or UN mechanisms identified above which clearly demonstrates that the ECCC and its judges are acting independently, impartially, and with the integrity required of an international justice tribunal.
[1] Secretary-General’s Bulletin, “Regulations Governing the Status, Basic Rights and Duties of Officials other than Secretariat Officials, and Experts on Mission” U.N. Doc ST/SGB/2002/9, June 18, 2002, available at http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/STSGB20029%20-%20Regulations%20Governing%20the%20Status,%20Basic%20Rights%20and%20Duties%20of%20non%20UN%20Secretariat%20Officials,%20and%20Experts%20on%20Mission.pdf. This Bulletin requires officials to “uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity” (integrity has been defined as involving honesty, truthfulness, fidelity, probity and freedom from corrupting influences”) and to “ not engage in any activity that is incompatible with the proper discharge of their duties with the United Nations.” It also requires that “Officials and experts on mission shall discharge their functions and regulate their conduct with the interests of the Organization only in view. Loyalty to the aims, principles and purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in its Charter, is a fundamental obligation of all individuals covered by the present Regulations.”
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