The Japanese government’s deadline to raise objections to the Khmer Rouge tribunal’s new budget passed in silence Tuesday, indicating the unanimous endorsement of the court’s donors, a Japanese government official said Wednesday.
Japan informed donors to the court last week that if they failed to speak up before Tuesday, the four-nation donor steering committee would interpret this as donor approval.
A revised budget was presented to donors in New York last month and called for about $80 million in additional funding until 2010.
Donors held their peace as the deadline passed Tuesday, said the Japanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“I think it will be regarded as endorsement of the group,” he said.
After the court’s initial 2004 budget of $56.3 million was adopted, donors held a conference in 2005 to announce pledged support of $38.5 million to the Public Affairs chief Helen Jarvis said Wednesday that a new pledging conference was unlikely and that donors would come forward individually with renewed pledges of support.
“We are continuing to have discussions,” she said.
The court is seeking $46 million in additional funding to continue operating until the end of next year, of which $10.2 million is for its Cambodian side.
However, outstanding original pledges of $650,000 and recent Japanese and Cambodian donations of $4.6 million have reduced the Cambodian shortfall to $5.6 million.
The UN side is seeking $34 million, or 95 percent of the money it has told donors it requires for the next 18 months.
