United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
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Peter MartinUnited Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
In March 2003 the UN and Cambodia signed an agreement to establish a joint international-Cambodian court to prosecute those most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979. The agreement involves Cambodia, with UN assistance, running two Extraordinary Chambers within the existing Cambodian justice system (ECCC).
It is widely agreed that United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (UNAKRT) has an important role to play in advancing Cambodia's judicial reform and that the trials will provide a good opportunity for building capacity and awareness in transparent judicial process and other important, associated areas of human rights. Legal and Judicial reform is one of the four central components of the new Cambodian Government's 'Rectangular Strategy' for reform.
A former New Zealand Governor General, Dame Sylvia Cartwright, is one of the international judges appointed to the ECCC and sits in the Trial Chamber.
All five suspects named in the introductory submission to the Extraordinary Chambers (ECCC) have now been arrested and are in detention. All defendants have selected their defence teams and pre-trial hearings are underway.
Last updated: 19 November 2008
