UN, Cambodian Officials Meet Over Tribunal

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
12 November 2009

Cambodian and UN officials met on Wednesday for general talks on the Khmer Rouge tribunal, including the budget, as the UN-backed court prepares for a complicated trial and still faces shortfalls in funding.

Council Minister Sok An met with UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen in Phnom Penh as part of a “routine consultation,” a tribunal spokesman said.

Taksoe-Jensen ended three days of talks on Wednesday, having met with Sok An, tribunal officials and non-governmental organizations.

No details of the meeting were released, but the tribunal budget was “part of the discussion,” the spokesman, Lars Olsen said.

Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers and head of a task force on tribunal negotiations, said the talks covered cooperation between the government and the UN and the results of the trial of Kaing Kek Iev, or Duch.

The tribunal is now preparing for its second case, against all five jailed leaders of the regime, which promises to be more complicated than that of Duch.

Tribunal observers have noted that the court has had difficulty gaining the confidence of many donors and still labors under allegations of corruption. It has also had difficulty calling senior government officials to testify.

Officials have said the new budget includes provisions for the arrest of five more suspects, a move Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned could lead to instability.

KRouge torturer: victims' confessions mostly false (Update)

April 07, 2009

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The Khmer Rouge regime's prisons chief recounted his grisly past, telling Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court that confessions extracted under his torture orders were rarely true.

Duch, whose real name is Kaing Guek Eav, last week apologised at trial for crimes against humanity, accepting blame for the extermination of 15,000 people who passed through the regime's notorious main prison, Tuol Sleng.

"I never believed the confessions I received told the truth. At most, they were about 40 percent true," Duch said Tuesday.

The grey-haired 66-year-old sat in the dock answering judges' questions about M-13 prison, a secret jungle centre he ran from 1971 to 1975 during the Khmer Rouge insurgency against the then US-backed government.

Duch told the court that he personally tortured two people there, but regularly ordered his subordinates to beat prisoners who were destined to be "smashed" to death with a stick at the back of the neck.

"The burden is still on me -- it's my responsibility. I would like to apologise to the souls of those who died," Duch said.

The Khmer Rouge were later in power from 1975 to 1979, the period when Duch is accused of supervising Tuol Sleng prison and sending thousands of people to their deaths in the so-called "Killing Fields".

The trial chamber is hearing evidence about M-13 to understand Tuol Sleng's organising structure, the personality of Duch and the relevance of his role to the Khmer Rouge leadership.

The former prison chief said Monday that he hated his role "detaining, interrogating and smashing" suspected spies at M-13 but he was afraid leaders would turn on him if he did not carry out orders.

However Duch told the court Tuesday he did not follow orders to torture French anthropologist Francois Bizot, who wrote about being detained at M-13 in his bestselling book, "The Gate".

"I could only inform to my boss Vorn Vet that these people (Bizot and two Cambodian assistants) were not CIA agents. They were really researchers," Duch said.

"My boss laughed at me... He said I was afraid of CIA agents and asked me to interrogate them. I told them it was beyond my capacity to interrogate them so I should only ask them to write down some sort of agreement," he added.

Many months later Khmer Rouge leaders decided to release Bizot, Duch said, making him one of just 10 prisoners who survived M-13.

"Only the Frenchman was released. The two Cambodian people (arrested with Bizot) were kept under detention," Duch added.

Scholar Henri Locard said he doubted Duch was providing a full confession but that the former prison chief's exacting testimony was unique in a country where few accept responsibility for crimes.

"In Cambodian politics, I've never heard this," Locard told AFP at the court.

Duch said M-13 was surrounded by a bamboo fence and shackled prisoners were often held in two-metre deep pits, both to prevent escape and to protect them from US warplanes carpetbombing the area.

The former maths teacher has denied assertions by prosecutors that he played a central role in the Khmer Rouge regime's iron-fisted rule.

Duch faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and premeditated murder for his role in the regime. He faces life in jail at the court, which does not have the power to impose the death penalty.

Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot died under house arrest in 1998, and many believe the UN-sponsored tribunal is the last chance to find justice for the regime which killed up to two million people.

The tribunal was formed in 2006 after nearly a decade of wrangling between the United Nations and Cambodian government, and is scheduled to try four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders after Duch's trial.

UN assistant secretary general for legal affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen held talks with senior Cambodian officials Tuesday to implement anti-corruption measures after claims Cambodian staff were forced to pay kickbacks for jobs.

Tribunal To See Anti-Corruption Measure

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
24 February 2009

Senior officials of the UN and Cambodia agreed Monday to establish a basic system to fight corruption within the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen and Cambodian Council Minister Sok An met for the second time Monday, as the tribunal heads toward a landmark trial for jailed prison chief Kaing Kek Iev, but under the shadow of corruption allegations.

Corruption and mismanagement allegations caused some donors last year to freeze funding to the tribunal and led to a suit filed in national courts by defense attorneys for jailed regime leader Nuon Chea, who said a corrupt tribunal could not provide a fair trial.

The two sides will set up “parallel national and international mechanisms to receive complaints and suggestions,” according to a joint statement issued after a lengthy meeting between the two men.

Complaints from the Cambodian side of the courts will be registered with the national “mechanism,” while international staff will issue complaints to the UN side. The complaints will be forwarded to a “joint session,” which will recommend actions.

“I think this is a significant agreement,” Taksoe-Jensen told reporters, in a joint press conference with Sok An. “I hope that it will be noted by the donor countries as well, and I hope that can have a positive impact on their willingness to come forward with new funds.”

Sok An called it a “very good agreement and very good understanding about the issue of strengthening the administration.”

Corruption, corruption and more corruption: UN Peter Taksoe-Jensen's meeting with Sok An for talks over anti-corruption measures at the KRT

Peter Taksoe-Jensen (L), U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, shakes hands with Sok An, Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister, during a meeting in Phnom Penh February 23, 2009. Taksoe-Jensen is in Cambodia for talks over anti-corruption measures at the Khmer Rouge tribunal between a top U.N. legal official and a member of Cambodia's government amid fears of bankruptcy on the Cambodian side of the court, according to local news reports. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Peter Taksoe-Jensen (2nd L), U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, listens as Sok An (R), Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister, talks during a meeting in Phnom Penh February 23, 2009. Taksoe-Jensen is in Cambodia for talks over anti-corruption measures at the Khmer Rouge tribunal between a top U.N. legal official and a member of Cambodia's government amid fears of bankruptcy on the Cambodian side of the court, according to local news reports. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Peter Taksoe-Jensen (front L), U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, listens as Sok An (R), Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister, talks during a meeting in Phnom Penh February 23, 2009. Taksoe-Jensen is in Cambodia for talks over anti-corruption measures at the Khmer Rouge tribunal between a top U.N. legal official and a member of Cambodia's government amid fears of bankruptcy on the Cambodian side of the court, according to local news reports. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

UN Prepared for More Tribunal Talks

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 February 2009

A senior UN legal official is preparing to hold another round of talks with Cambodian officials in coming weeks, as the Khmer Rouge tribunal moves toward its first trial amid lingering corruption allegations.

A UN team is preparing to travel to Cambodia “in the coming weeks to follow up the meeting I had in December,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen told VOA Khmer Tuesday.

“We are going to discuss how the court is doing,” he said, declining to elaborate further.

The tribunal, which is preparing for the opening hearing in the trial of jailed prison chief Kaing Kek Iev, later this month, has struggled with allegations by Cambodian staff they paid kickbacks for their jobs. The UN has reviewed the allegations, but the findings have not been made public.

“We are looking at the first official proceeding of the court, which is good news, a step forward,” Taksoe-Jensen said. “But the issue we are going to discuss among ourselves, that is something that we do not think we discuss with the press.”

Taksoe-Jensen met with Deputy Prime Minister Sok An in December 2008, as a tribunal task force agreed to strengthen management of the courts.

Corruption and mismanagement allegations caused some donors last year to freeze their funding of the tribunal.

Sources close the tribunal say the upcoming meeting will in part look at how to clear corruption charges for the confidence of hesitant donors.

Taksoe-Jensen declined to say whether his talks with Sok An were related to such funding.

“I am not going into the substance,” he said. “I fully understand that the donor countries are looking at the court, and thinking about how the court is dealing with the different issues before it.”

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: ECCC-Pig

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Deal to aid Khmer Rouge tribunal

Thursday, December 11, 2008
Al Jazeera

The United Nations and Cambodia have agreed in principle to boost the integrity of staff at the country's special tribunal to try former members of the Khmer Rouge government.

The two sides said in a statement on Wednesday that they would meet to ensure the joint tribunal is administered in a "transparent, fair and efficient manner".

The statement follows a meeting a day earlier between Peter Taksoe-Jensen, the UN legal affairs expert, and Cambodian officials.

Cambodian personnel at the UN-assisted tribunal have been accused of corruption twice in the past two years, allegedly kicking back part of their salaries to their bosses.

Five former top officials of the Khmer Rouge government are being held awaiting trial before the tribunal, charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The group's radical policies are blamed for the death of up to two million Cambodians when the group was in power in 1975-79, but none of the leaders have ever been brought to trial.

Cambodia to fight corruption at genocide tribunal [... still singing the same song?]

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The United Nations and the government of Cambodia have agreed in principle to strengthen measures to prevent corruption among staff at the country's genocide tribunal.

The partners said in a statement Wednesday that they would meet to ensure the tribunal is administered in a "transparent, fair and efficient manner."

Cambodian personnel at the U.N.-assisted tribunal have been accused of graft twice in the past two years.

The tribunal will try senior members of the communist Khmer Rouge, whose radical policies caused 1.7 million deaths when the group was in power in 1975-79.

The statement was issued after a meeting Tuesday between U.N. legal affairs expert Peter Taksoe-Jensen and Cambodian officials.

Plans Tentative for Renewed Tribunal Talks

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
27 November 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

A senior UN official said Wednesday he is planning to hold Khmer Rouge tribunal talks with Council Minister Sok An early in December.

“We are hoping to be able to have a meeting with Cambodia in the first week of December,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen told VOA Khmer. “We haven’t nailed down the exact meeting time, but it looks as if we will be able to find time to meet and discuss cooperation between the UN and Cambodia on the tribunal.”

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Wednesday there was so far no schedule for a meeting and referred questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Officials at the ministry were not immediately available for comment.

A visit by Taksoe-Jensen, who is an assistant to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would coincide with the tribunal’s struggle with corruption allegations and donor confidence, as well as preparations for the courts’ first-ever trial, of prison chief Duch, early next year.

Cambodian tribunal officials have denied the allegations.

Talks would show the UN’s continued attachment to the courts’ credibility and effectively, said James Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, the tribunal monitor that first pointed out allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

“Reports of corruption must be treated seriously, addressed properly, and acted on immediately if the [tribunal’s] trials are to be seen as fair and credible,” Goldston said.

Staff who initially reported corruption, on the Cambodian side of the courts, should meanwhile be protected against reprisals, he said.

UN legal chief to travel to Cambodia for talks

Nov 18, 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - UN Assistant Secretary-General Peter Taksoe-Jensen will travel to Cambodia this week to discuss the country's troubled Khmer Rogue tribunal with Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, national media reported on Tuesday.

Taksoe-Jensen requested the meeting amid ongoing allegations of corruption on the Cambodian side of the UN-backed court, the Phnom Penh Post reported.

The tribunal was established in 2006 after a decade of negotiations between the UN and the Cambodian government and will put on trial five former leaders of the genocidal Khmer Rogue regime.

The first trial is due to begin in early 2009.

UN Official To Arrive for Tribunal Talks

The courts are moving toward their first trial of a Khmer Rouge leader, Duch, above.

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
17 November 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen will meet with Council Minister Sok An in coming days over the Khmer Rouge tribunal, a UN spokeswoman said.

The meeting would "address a number of issues of common concern to the United Nations and the Cambodian authority," the spokeswoman, Choi Sung-ah, said, declining to elaborate.

The visit comes amid standing allegations of corruption and mismanagement on the Cambodian side of the courts, which led to the delay of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donor funding earlier this year.

The courts are preparing for the first trial of five jailed Khmer Rouge leaders, of prison chief Duch, which is expected to get underway early next year.

Tribunal observers said Taksoe-Jensen's visit was to review budgets and future plans, as well as management and cooperation and a meeting with donors in Phnom Penh.