Civil Society’s Concern Regarding the Positive Legacy of the ECCC and the Victims Participation

Phnom Penh, 24 May 2010:Our organizations are both Cambodian and international non-profit institutions that have supported the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) since it began its operations in 2006. During that time, we have advocated strongly for the Court to achieve a strong and credible accountability process for victims of the Khmer Rouge, and have continued to both monitor the process and support victims’ participation towards this end. We are writing to you to urge your support for the Court at what we believe to be a critical stage of the ECCC’s history.

To date, and despite various setbacks and challenges, the ECCC has achieved important milestones. The Court has successfully completed its first trial – that of Prosecutor v Kaing Guek Eav (alias ‘Duch’) – and the close of this case marks an important milestone in both the history of the tribunal as well as Cambodia’s history. Victims of S-21, the detention center over which Duch presided, were able to participate in the proceedings as both civil parties and complainants. This landmark participation has made a positive difference to many S-21 survivors, and has spawned a Victims’ Association that will cement this positive difference long after the tribunal’s proceedings are over. Based on our experience with victims living all over Cambodia, the tribunal has opened up important avenues for discussion about the Khmer Rouge regime that may otherwise never have been opened. Additionally, we have observed the beneficial impact the Court is having on Cambodian lawyers and judges working at the tribunal. We are confident that the Court stands to make an important contribution to promoting a strong legal culture in Cambodia. These are significant achievements for a tribunal that is working in a challenging political environment.

The ECCC is now at a critical juncture in its history. It is on the precipice of its most important case – one in which the surviving ‘senior leaders’ of the Khmer Rouge regime will be brought to justice. The scale of the crimes alleged in this second case far outweighs those of Duch’s case, and the trial stands to be of greater significance to Cambodians. Additionally, over 8,000 victims of the Khmer Rouge regime have applied for participation in this case. This process alone has brought home to many Cambodians the significance of the accountability process, and has enabled them to confront a dark and difficult part of their history. Yet without much-needed donor support in order to continue its work, it will be difficult for this case to be brought to completion in accordance with internationally recognized fair trial standards.

With just one of four cases having been completed, it is too soon to tell how history will judge the tribunal. Yet we can be certain that unless support for the institution is forth-coming, the sceptics will be proved right, and the tribunal ultimately be considered a farce in the eyes of Cambodians and the international community. For us, this would seem an unconscionable outcome. The victims of Cambodia have waited thirty years for justice: it would seem a great shame if yet again, they were denied it, due to a misplaced fatigue towards what was always going to be a challenging process.

We wish to thank the Member States of the United Nations for taking the time to consider our request.

Yours sincerely,

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