A U.N. committee approved by consensus on Friday a long-delayed plan to create special courts to try former leaders of Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime but to fund the trials through voluntary contributions rather than via the regular U.N. budget. Diplomats hailed the plan’s approval by the U.N. General Assembly’s Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee without a formal vote, but warned that justice could yet be denied if governments failed to contribute generously to the courts’ operation. The plan must now be adopted by the full General Assembly, but routine approval is expected as all 191 assembly members are also members of the committee. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a March 31 report to the assembly, had warned that “the opportunity of bringing those responsible to justice might be lost” if the courts were funded by voluntary contributions rather than through regular U.N. dues payments. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.