The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: The planned genocide trial of former Khmer Rouge leaders must meet international standards of justice, Cambodian and foreign human rights groups said Monday.
The call came as Cambodian and foreign judges appointed to the tribunal prepared for a crucial meeting this week to thrash out differences over rules for the proceedings.
The failure so far to agree on procedures for what is formally known as Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, or ECCC, has delayed the trials and could derail them altogether.
The radical policies of the Khmer Rouge led to the deaths of some 1.7 million people from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition during the group's 1975-79 rule.
"We view the ECCC as a last chance to provide justice to the Cambodian people for atrocities suffered during the period of 1975-79," said a joint statement by the Phnom Penh-based Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative, and three other groups.
Prosecutors are expected to indict about 10 people, including the few surviving top Khmer Rouge leaders.
The draft rules at issue cover every phase of the proceedings — preliminary investigations, judicial investigations, the trial and appeals — and also the roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys and defendants.
The tribunal was created by a 2003 agreement between Cambodia and the United Nations, and after long delays had been expected to convene later this year. It has been set up to operate under the Cambodian judicial system, which is widely regarded as corrupt and susceptible to political influence.
The human rights groups urged the tribunal to adopt procedural rules "that satisfy international standards for the holding of fair and legitimate trials to try the senior leaders and those most responsible for crimes."
"National and international judges and other officials of the ECCC must perform their duties with integrity, independence, and objectivity," the statement said.
In late January, the tribunal announced that Cambodian judges and their foreign counterparts had made "solid progress" in "significantly narrowing the number of outstanding issues."
However, several major issues remained unresolved, including how to integrate Cambodian and international law to ensure transparency and fairness, especially for defendants.
In February, the tribunal suffered a public relations blow when allegations were made that Cambodian judges and other court personnel had kicked back some of their wages to Cambodian government officials in exchange for their positions on the court.
The charges were taken seriously enough to trigger an internal audit by the United Nations, although its findings have not been made public.
The call came as Cambodian and foreign judges appointed to the tribunal prepared for a crucial meeting this week to thrash out differences over rules for the proceedings.
The failure so far to agree on procedures for what is formally known as Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, or ECCC, has delayed the trials and could derail them altogether.
The radical policies of the Khmer Rouge led to the deaths of some 1.7 million people from execution, overwork, disease and malnutrition during the group's 1975-79 rule.
"We view the ECCC as a last chance to provide justice to the Cambodian people for atrocities suffered during the period of 1975-79," said a joint statement by the Phnom Penh-based Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative, and three other groups.
Prosecutors are expected to indict about 10 people, including the few surviving top Khmer Rouge leaders.
The draft rules at issue cover every phase of the proceedings — preliminary investigations, judicial investigations, the trial and appeals — and also the roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys and defendants.
The tribunal was created by a 2003 agreement between Cambodia and the United Nations, and after long delays had been expected to convene later this year. It has been set up to operate under the Cambodian judicial system, which is widely regarded as corrupt and susceptible to political influence.
The human rights groups urged the tribunal to adopt procedural rules "that satisfy international standards for the holding of fair and legitimate trials to try the senior leaders and those most responsible for crimes."
"National and international judges and other officials of the ECCC must perform their duties with integrity, independence, and objectivity," the statement said.
In late January, the tribunal announced that Cambodian judges and their foreign counterparts had made "solid progress" in "significantly narrowing the number of outstanding issues."
However, several major issues remained unresolved, including how to integrate Cambodian and international law to ensure transparency and fairness, especially for defendants.
In February, the tribunal suffered a public relations blow when allegations were made that Cambodian judges and other court personnel had kicked back some of their wages to Cambodian government officials in exchange for their positions on the court.
The charges were taken seriously enough to trigger an internal audit by the United Nations, although its findings have not been made public.
3 comments:
Like I said again and again. Extraordinary my fucking ass!!
IS CAMBODIA DEMOCRACY IS INTERNATIONAL STANDAED?
GO WITH 12:37AM AT THE END
Ha this is a very boring class
The class is tech
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