Hopes for Khmer Rouge tribunal influence on Cambodia’s courts ‘at risk’ amid political crackdown

When the Khmer Rouge tribunal was first established it was seen not only as a chance at justice for the regime’s victims, but as a potential example for the country’s courts to emulate. It would, it was speculated, lift up the justice system – a hope that experts at a recent panel say has been all but extinguished.

At the discussion – hosted in New York, last month by the Open Society Foundations, and for which an audio recording was recently made available – experts discussed the impact an ongoing political crackdown may have on the legacy of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

“What’s the relationship between the deterioration of democracy and human rights and . . . the performance of this extraordinary chambers in the search for accountability?” Jim Goldston, the moderator and executive director of Open Society Justice Initiative, asked.

The tribunal was established to try the leaders of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime, which oversaw the deaths of up to 2 million people.

So far, the court has convicted chief ideologue Nuon Chea, head of state Khieu Samphan and Kaing Guek Eav, who oversaw the S-21 prison, of crimes against humanity.