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Office of the Council of Ministers
Secretariat of the Task Force
Joint
Press Statement
By His
Excellency Sean Visoth, Executive Secretary of the Royal
Government Task Force and Director of the Office of
Administration
And Ms
Michelle Lee, Deputy Director of the Office of
Administration
KHMER
ROUGE TRIALS MOVE INTO FINAL STAGES OF PREPARATION
Sean
Visoth:
This week we move into an important new stage in the long
process of establishing the extraordinary Chambers in the courts
of Cambodia with international participation and assistance.
The
newly appointed and assigned Deputy Director of the Office of
Administration, Ms. Michelle Lee, is leading the UN Start-Up
Assessment Mission to Cambodia, 6-16 December 2005 consisting of
seven members, who include four newly appointed Chiefs of
Security, Information and Communications Technology, Budget and
Finances and General Services, as well as officials from the
United Nations Headquarters in New York - - Anne-Marie Ibanez
from the Department of Political Affairs, acting as spokesperson
for the Mission, and David Hutchinson from the Office of Legal
Affairs (see attached list).
As well
as members of the Royal Government’s Secretariat of the Task
Force, the Cambodian delegation includes representatives from
the Ministries of Economy and Finance; Land Management, Urban
Planning and Construction; the Ministry of Interior’s
Extraordinary Chambers Security Commission and NiDa (the
National Information and Communications Technology Development
Authority) (see attached list).
During
the period since the last UNAKRT visit almost exactly one year
ago, much has happened. The most significant date was the entry
into force of the Agreement on 29 April 2005, following a
successful Pledging Conference in New York on 28 March.
Other
key points have been the appointment of the senior
administrative positions on both sides; work towards selection
of judicial officers, both international and Cambodian;
continuing preparation of resource material for the
Extraordinary Chambers and for public information; as well as
training of Cambodian judges and lawyers.
From
the Cambodian side, we feel we are now on the cusp of
establishing the Extraordinary Chambers. We look forward to
working with the UN team during this final phase of preparation
and then finally move into the process for which all this work
has been aimed – to bring justice to the Cambodian people for
tragic events that took place in our country a quarter of a
century ago. I know I can speak for all the Cambodian team in
saying how grateful we are that the international community,
represented today by the UN delegation, is joining us in this
historic task.
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Michelle Lee:
The purpose of this UN Start-Up Assessment Mission is to advance
these preparations to a new level, by checking the planning
documents prepared during the three UNAKRT Technical Missions
against the reality of today, by looking in more detail at how
and when the Extraordinary Chambers may begin its operations,
and to move towards finalization of the two Supplementary
Agreements on Utilities, Facilities and Services, and on
Security and Safety, which were foreshadowed in the main
Agreement signed on 6 June 2003 and endorsed by the United
Nations General Assembly and Cambodia’s National Assembly.
Yesterday our delegation had the honour to meet Deputy Prime
Minister Sok An, Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council
of Ministers and Chairman of the Royal Government Task Force for
a productive exchange of views.
The
Mission commenced with the two delegations holding a fruitful
first plenary meeting, setting the agenda for the ten-day
mission and definitely setting the tone for a warm and
collaborative working relationship between the two sides. Since
that initial meeting the UN delegation has been making courtesy
calls on the major donor countries and other interested states.
The response to these visits has been extremely positive, and
the diplomatic community has offered to support our efforts in
practical ways as we begin our work.
As soon
as all members of the UN delegation arrive, a site visit will be
made to the premises designated for the Extraordinary Chambers
in Kambol and a number of specialist meetings will be held to
make concreted plans for entering the operational phase of
establishing the Extraordinary Chambers in the near future.
The
principal remaining obstacle relates to securing the total
funding required for the operations of the Extraordinary
Chambers over three years. At the present moment the $43 million
on the United Nations side of the budget is almost fully
subscribed, but the Cambodian side still lacks $10.8 million.
The Cambodian Government is appealing to other governments for
urgent action to help meet this gap through bilateral
contributions. A number of countries have indicated that they
are considering how they can make a favourable response to this
appeal, and we are hoping that this issue will be resolved
within the coming weeks.
We are
happy to be here and ready to start work. We know this will be a
challenging task, but one that we are determined to carry out to
the very best of our abilities. I have been able to recruit key
members of the start-up team from among the very best in the
Unite Nations system, and I have selected them especially for
their extensive experience in their specific field and in other
mixed and international tribunals. We intend to share the very
best practices, and to work hand in hand with our Cambodian
counterparts with the intention of leaving behind a positive
legacy. But we are also aware that we have much to learn from
Cambodia’s rich and ancient cultural traditions.
Phnom
Penh
9
December 2005
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