GUIDANCE TO USUN ON KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 029154

SIPDIS
USUN FOR MSIMONOFF AND MMCLEOD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2019
TAGS: EAID KJUS KTIA PGOV PREL UN CB
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE TO USUN ON KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL

REF: A. USUN-EAP-S/WCI EMAIL (3/17/09)

B. PHNOM PENH 168

Classified By: IO Acting A/S James Warlick, Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary and Action Request: The UN's Office of Legal
Affairs (OLA) and the Cambodian government have significantly
different interpretations of the February 23 Joint Statement
outlining the structure of an anti-corruption mechanism in
the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT). UN/OLA has solicited U.S.
views on what the UN's bottom line should be in its
negotiations with the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). The
Department strongly supports the KRT and recognizes that
efforts to eliminate corruption are critical to the court's
success. Department does not believe, however, that this
issue can be resolved through the exchange of letters agreed
to in the Joint Statement. USUN should urge UN/OLA to
reengage the RGC at a senior level in Phnom Penh, using the
February 23 statement as a baseline for further negotiation.
Department does not seek to predetermine the outcome of those
talks, but USUN may note that we are sympathetic to UN
concerns that local KRT employees not feel constrained or
intimidated in filing complaints. End Summary and Action
Request.


2. (C) Department appreciates USUN's ongoing engagement with
UN/OLA and the donor steering committee for the Extraordinary
Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia aka Khmer Rouge Tribunal
(KRT). Department notes UN/OLA's recent request for input
from donors on the way forward in the development of a joint
anti-corruption mechanism for the KRT (Ref A). Department
also recognizes the challenges in ensuring adequate funding
for the court and a March 23 deadline for a report by a joint
UN-Cambodian team on issues related to corruption on the
administrative side of the court (Ref B).


3. (C) Department is concerned that the ongoing dispute
between the UN and the RGC over the implementation of the
anti-corruption mechanism risks undermining the future of the
court. It does not appear that the parties will be able to
resolve their differences, at this point, through an exchange
of letters. Department believes that further meetings
between senior representatives of the UN and the RGC are both
necessary and appropriate.


4. (SBU) OBJECTIVES: Department requests USUN make the
following points to relevant UN/OLA and donor country
representatives at the earliest opportunity. Embassy Phnom
Penh is authorized to draw from the same points in
conversation with UN representatives and representatives of
other donor states:

--Reiterate U.S. support for the goal of eliminating
corruption at the KRT. Welcome the efforts of UN/OLA chief
Peter Taksoe-Jensen to work with the Cambodian side to create
a joint mechanism to address corruption issues at the KRT.

--Express our support for the Joint Statement of February 23,
2009, in which the RGC and the UN agreed on "the essential
elements of a structure devoted to strengthening the ECCC's
entire administration."

--Encourage the UN to work from the Joint Statement as a
baseline position, even while recognizing that the document
is less than ideal.

--Urge the two sides to continue efforts to refine the
agreement and flesh out details on implementation, but
without seeking to amend the provisions of the February 23
Joint Statement.

--Note that Department is sympathetic to UN concerns
regarding the importance of ensuring that local KRT employees
not feel unduly constrained or intimidated in filing
complaints.

--Urge that every effort should be made by both sides to
continue negotiations, including by a high-level UN
delegation present in Phnom Penh.

--Support the announced resumption of limited donor funding
to the RGC to pay the court's monthly payroll for Cambodian
employees and thus avert any interruption to the court's work.

--Suggest that the exchange of letters could be used to
summarize work to date and anticipate resumption of
face-to-face talks to refine the details of the joint
mechanism.

--(if asked) Reiterate our intention to deliver $1.782
million to UNAKRT to support its activities with the KRT
pending finalization of the grant language and explain that
the evaluation of any future funding for the KRT will take
into account continued progress on the issue of corruption.


4. (C) BACKGROUND: Three years after its creation, the KRT
is moving ahead on its first trial, which is scheduled to
open on March 30. However, allegations of corruption against
non-judicial Cambodian staff at the KRT have been damaging to
the court's credibility. In December 2008, Cambodian Chief
of Administration Sean Vissoth, who has been the subject of a
number of allegations, went on an extended medical leave from
which he has yet to return.


5. (C) UN/OLA chief Peter Taksoe-Jensen traveled to Phnom
Penh in December 2008 and February 2009 to negotiate the
creation of an anti-corruption mechanism for the KRT. On
February 23, Taksoe-Jensen and Cambodian Deputy Prime
Minister Sok An agreed on the text of a Joint Statement that
outlined the structure of the proposed anti-corruption
mechanism. However, subsequent exchanges of letters revealed
that the two sides had substantially different
interpretations of the language contained in the Joint
Statement. On March 17, OLA solicited the views of donor
countries on how to resolve these differences. In
particular, OLA sought views on what position UN/OLA should
adopt as its bottom line in its negotiations with the RGC.
CLINTON