PRESS BRIEFING BY THOMAS HAMMARBERG, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMBODIA

22 April 1999
OHCHR/99/04/22/B



Thomas Hammarberg, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Human Rights in Cambodia, told correspondents gathered this afternoon at the Palais des Nations in Geneva that 20 years ago, the Commission on Human Rights had received a report on mass killings and other large-scale atrocities committed in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge regime. However, there had been no real discussion of the report and no resolution passed. Even after the Khmer Rouge regime had been driven out of large parts of the country, the United Nations had continued a policy of silence; and that in spite of reports showing that the killings were of genocidal proportions during the three years and nine months of Khmer Rouge administration.

Mr. Hammarberg said the attitude within the United Nations had changed. Two years ago the Commission had signaled that the United Nations was prepared to help Cambodia tackle "past serious violations of Cambodian and international law". In response both Prime Ministers, Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen, asked for assistance to bring to justice those responsible for the genocide and crime against humanity (1975-1979). They stated in a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General that Cambodia itself did not have the resources and expertise to conduct this procedure. The Secretary-General appointed a Group of Experts to evaluate the existing evidence in order to determine the nature of the Khmer Rouge leaders crimes.

The Special Representative said last February the Group had reported that sufficient evidence existed to justify legal proceedings against Khmer Rouge leaders. The experts had recommended that the United Nations should establish an ad hoc international tribunal somewhere in the Asian-Pacific region - though not in Cambodia - and that the prosecutor would establish an investigations office in Cambodia. "However, the Cambodian Government had made clear that it wanted the trial to take place inside Cambodia".

The Special Representative said a draft resolution on the human rights situation in Cambodia was to be submitted to the Commission. The draft resolution contained a clear signal from the international community on how the tribunal should be established. "There is an implicit recognition of the possibility of having a trial within Cambodia".

Mr. Hammarberg said that the issue was not only important as an obligation to the victims but also because it was important to fight against impunity. The Cambodian courts were under pressure from political and military circles and that involved unacceptable corruption.

Asked why a climate of corruption and impunity still existed in 1999 in Cambodia, Mr. Hammarberg said the long lasting effects of the Khmer Rouge period had been underestimated. Almost all lawyers in the country had been killed and today the overwhelming majority of judges had no legal training at all. There was also a lack of determination and political will to demonstrate that justice was important.

A correspondent asked what the international community could do to ensure the safety and the functioning of the court system. Mr. Hammarberg said there was an assistance program from the United Nations, Japan and Australia mainly on the justice system. The program included training for officials and benefited from aid from NGOs. The key problem was related to education and the lack of legal profiles in the society; this was a main issue in achieving a better judiciary system.

Mr. Hammarberg said there was also a lack of procedural and criminal courts, which meant that fundamental pieces of legislation were not in place.

Asked about the worst forms of human rights abuses in Cambodia, Mr. Hammarberg said these were related to economic and cultural rights. For ordinary persons in Cambodia the absolutely terrible conditions of the education system was one of the major problems. On civil and political rights violations, killings which appeared to be politically motivated were the most serious problem. Some 130 killings or disappearances remained to be clarified.

Responding to a question about the treatment of prisoners and the use of torture, the Special Representative said most torture cases occurred during the interrogation period. Other problems concerning detainees included the fact that protection of women in prisons and healthcare for prisoners were non-existent. "More than a half of the prison population looked ill". When a person was imprisoned he or she was not sentenced to be ill. When authorities incarcerated someone they also were responsible for providing healthcare.

From Mr. Hammarberg's point of view, "too many people who committed serious violent crimes were not apprehended and those in prison often were there only because they were poor". People responsible for mass killings were walking around freely and even being treated like VIPs, while others who had committed petty crimes were being held in terrible conditions.