Human rights NGOs have called on the government to make public the list of judges and prosecutors who might be selected to preside over a future Khmer Rouge tribunal, one of several recommendations released in a statement Wednesday.
The recommendations were borne out of a conference sponsored last month by the International Federation for Human Rights, of which Adhoc and Licadho are members.
A pool of 30 judges and prosecutors has already started training to take part in the Khmer Rouge tribunal, but the government has refused to say who they are.
The pool was chosen by the Supreme Council of Magistracy and has had two courses at the Royal School for Judges and Prosecutors in August to study various international conventions and laws, such as the Geneva Convention.
Adhoc President Thun Saray said the problem is that judges are often affiliated with different political parties and in a trial with as much weight and importance as the tribunal, independence and integrity are paramount.
“If they are selected according to their affiliation, we are afraid they will not perform well,” he said Wednesday. “We are trying to see if they are the best.”
Up to 11 judges and two prosecutors will be chosen to work for the tribunal, which is expected to last three years and try five to 10 former Khmer Rouge leaders and members.
The NGOs also asked the international community to contribute the remaining $4.33 million needed from it to start the tribunal. No mention was made of the government’s $13.3 million share of the bill, which it recently said it hopes to also secure from international donors.
“They’ve raised a number of points that are under active consideration,” Helen Jarvis of the government’s Khmer Rouge task force said Wednesday.
