MEETING WITH UN OFFICE OF LEGAL AFFAIRS ON KHMER

					  C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000323 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2019 
TAGS: PGOV KJUS PREL PHUM CB
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH UN OFFICE OF LEGAL AFFAIRS ON KHMER 
ROUGE TRIBUNAL 
 
REF: STATE 29154 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Alex Wolff, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
					

1. (SBU) On March 26, Legoffs met with U.N. Assistant
Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Peter Taksoe-Jensen and
U.N. Senior Officer Huw Llewellyn and delivered the points
contained in Reftel.



2. (C) Taksoe-Jensen reported on the status of the
negotiations on the anti-corruption mechanism for the Khmer
Rouge Tribunal. He said that the joint sessions have been
bogged down on the issue of whether national staff can
complain to the international ethics monitor, and on the
process of "appealing" recommendations. He noted that the UN
has not yet determined what its bottom line is, and was
considering whether there is some other "safety net" that
would provide Cambodian employees with sufficient protection
against retaliation or intimidation. Taksoe-Jensen remains
concerned that the NGO community will criticize the United
Nations if it agrees to language that does not provide
sufficient protection for Cambodian employees.



3. (C) Taksoe-Jensen said that, with the help of the donors,
it has been made clear to Cambodia that Sean Visoth, the
Cambodian Administrator alleged to have orchestrated the
kick-back scheme, must not return to the court. Ideally,
according to Taksoe-Jensen, Visoth would be removed from the
payroll altogether, not simply remain out on extended sick
leave.



4. (C) Taksoe-Jensen plans to travel to Phnom Penh on April
6 to meet with Sok An and to finalize the anti-corruption
mechanism. While in Phnom Penh, Taksoe-Jensen plans to meet
with UNDP and the donors. Taksoe-Jensen wants to persuade
UNDP not to disengage from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.



5. (SBU) Taksoe-Jensen reported that the UN will soon make a
vacancy announcement for the liaison officer position, which
he hopes will assist in communication between Phnom Penh and
the New York-based representatives of the donors. He also
emphasized the need for a Special Advisor along the lines of
the role previously played by David Tolbert last year. He
said that a Special Advisor could spend significant time on
the ground in Phnom Penh working on corruption and other
important issues related to the court.
Wolff