The United Nations appointment of Michelle Lee of China to coordinate UN assistance to the long-awaited Khmer Rouge tribunal has been met with mixed reactions in Cambodia.
The world body announced on Thursday that Lee—a 31-year veteran of the UN who was previously in charge of administrative support services for the UN genocide tribunal for Rwanda—will take up her position on Sept 1 as the tribunal’s deputy coordinator.
Youk Chhang, executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said Sunday that the UN’s decision to appoint a Chinese national as its Khmer Rouge tribunal point person might send the wrong message to average Cambodians.
“I think given the history [of the Khmer Rouge regime], it is a strange choice,” Youk Chhang said. “But we will have to see.”
Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said local perceptions of the appointment might be an issue.
“About her capacity and qualifications, I have no doubt,” he said. “But I’m concerned about the misperception of the Cambodian people, especially if the court finds any Khmer Rouge leader not guilty.” Sok Sam Oeun reiterated the need for transparency and full public participation during the tribunal. “Maybe the Cambodian people will still doubt the court’s decisions,” he said.
China was one of the strongest supporters of the Khmer Rouge during the 1975-79 regime, providing material assistance and support for its ultra-Communist partner, scholars and researchers have said.
Though the Chinese government has stated that the forthcoming tribunal is a solely Cambodian affair, genocide scholars have noted that a tribunal could raise embarrassing questions regarding China’s links to the regime.
The Chinese Embassy on Sunday declined comment.
A foreign diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said the appointment was unexpected.
“It does strike me as quite surprising,” the diplomat said. “I am a bit puzzled, but I would think the UN knows what it’s doing, and the member states [involved in the tribunal] must be comfortable with the selection.”
Douglas Gardner, UN resident coordinator in Cambodia and UN Development Program country representative, said the UN chose the best person for the job.
“The UN in New York went through a very elaborate, competitive screening process to get the best person on the planet for the job,” he said Sunday.
As to the perception of ordinary Cambodians regarding the appointment, Gardner was confident the UN had considered everything before making a decision.
This appointment, he said, represents an important step for the tribunal, but there are still many more steps ahead, including securing $11.8 million to cover the Cambodian government’s share of the trial budget and appointing judges and prosecutors.
Lee will work with a Cambodian coordinator on all administrative matters related to the tribunal. The government has not yet announced who their coordinator will be.
UN member states are expected by today to have submitted the names of judges and prosecutors they would like to nominate to sit on the tribunal.
Those who are accepted by the UN will be forwarded to the Supreme Council of Magistracy for final selection.
“Since this agreement [to establish the tribunal] was signed, it’s been a step-by-step process,” Gardner said. “I think having a point person on the ground will help facilitate this.”
Helen Jarvis of the government’s Khmer Rouge tribunal taskforce said the government was not involved in any way in choosing Lee as the deputy coordinator.
“The appointment was made entirely within the UN,” she said, adding the government has not yet received any official confirmation that Lee had been named to the position.
Jarvis said the government is moving ahead with its own preparations for the tribunal, including the selection criteria for judges and prosecutors. Everything, however, hinges on securing the $11.8 million, she said. “The money has to come in.”
On Wednesday, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee released a statement calling on the government and the UN to make public the process by which judges will be selected for the tribunal.
“The government has not released a list of the candidates to be considered, the criteria by which they will be evaluated, or information about the process and time frame for recruitment and selection,” the committee wrote. “It is important that such information be considered now, before they are selected.”
