Sok An Speech 14 March 2006

 

 

 

 Remarks by

His Excellency Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister

Minister in Charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers and

Chairman of the Task Force for Cooperation with Foreign Legal Experts and Preparation of the Proceedings for the Trial of Senior Khmer Rouge Leaders

 

at the Signing Ceremony of the Two Supplementary Agreements

between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia Concerning the Prosecution under Cambodian Law of Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic Kampuchea

 

14 March 2006

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

 

Today, with the signing of these two Supplementary Agreements, we conclude the legal framework for the establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

 

At the same time we can also say that we are well on the way to concluding the financial arrangements, and that the work of setting into place this new and unprecedented institution is beginning to take place.

 

Firstly, we have secured these most suitable and appropriate premises for the trials – as you can see for yourselves, a brand new court room with space for over 500 people to observe the proceedings and generous room for a media centre; ample office accommodation for the almost 300 staff expected to be employed; and grounds sufficient to allow construction of detention facilities, secure housing for victims and witnesses coming to testify, and to provide ample parking for press and the public.

 

Secondly, on both the Cambodian and United Nations sides we have begun to appoint well-qualified and competent people to take up positions with the Office of Administration for the ECCC. I would like here to mention specifically the Director (Sean Visoth) and Deputy Director (Michelle Lee), who have over the past month worked together in a spirit of harmony and positive cooperation in the task of assembling staff to run the nine sections of the Office of Administration.

 

Thirdly, the Secretary-General has now transmitted to the Royal Government of Cambodia his list of nominees for the positions of international judges, co-prosecutor and co-investigating judge as well as their reserves.  I would like to thank the Secretary-General and also the Member States who proposed their nationals for these important positions for proposing people of such calibre and experience from all corners of the globe. The Supreme Council of the Magistracy is now in the process of making a final selection from this list of nominees, and will soon announce the final list of both international and Cambodian judicial officers. I have every confidence that these eminent individuals will work together to build an institution unprecedented, for the ECCC is something new – a national court with international characteristics. If we succeed with the challenge of forging the strong, independent and competent court that we have in mind, then we will not only have set up a pilot court for Cambodia but also we will have built a new model in the annals of international justice.

 

I take the occasion today to pay tribute to the work of all those in the United Nations Secretariat – from Hans Corell and his successor as Legal Counsel Nicholas Michel and the team from the Office of Legal Affairs, the Department of Political Affairs, the Office of the Controller as well as the United Nations representatives on the ground here in Phnom Penh.

 

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the Member States of the United Nations who have maintained their confidence and commitment to this process, without which we would not be signing these Supplementary Agreements today. We appreciate the assistance and advice given to us by the Group of Interested States and over recent months their financial contributions, especially by Japan, India, the European Union, France, Australia, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, Sweden, ****CHECK****

 

I would like to say personally how deeply touched we were to hear of two very special contributions. We understand the deep significance of donations of $1,000 from Armenia and $500 from Namibia because we know how those countries have suffered, and we understand that their contributions come from the heart, to encourage us to right the wrongs of our own history as they too are struggling to do.

 

It has taken many years to get to this point but we now stand on the brink of finally establishing an internationally recognised judicial procedure to address the crimes committed in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. I urge all those working in the ECCC to devote themselves wholeheartedly to their duties. To all those observing its work, both within and outside the country -- whether in the press, the NGOs, in governments and in the community at large --  I appeal to you to extend your assistance and support in the coming years so that we finally discharge our historic obligation to the victims of these crimes.

Thank you for your attention.