Just prior to a meeting of Cambodia's major donors in February, Cambodian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) met in Phnom Penh and issued an appeal to the donors, declaring that "accountability is one of the first and fundamental steps in the process of building a nation, as it supports the rule of law and protection of human rights...(But) impunity in the Cambodian context means that civil servants, the police, military and armed groups are often protected from prosecution. Impunity is prevalent in all phases of the legal process..." And this impunity, they said, is a basic impediment to sustainable development in Cambodia.
We agree. Human Rights Watch believes that U.S. policy towards the Royal Cambodian Government must be aimed at promoting fundamental human rights, ending official impunity, and building institutions to promote and protect the rule of law, and that the U.S. should use its substantial political and economic leverage to support the efforts of Cambodian citizens in these areas.
The U.S. and others should also continue to press for an independent tribunal, under United Nations auspices, to hold accountable senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge responsible for acts of genocide and crimes against humanity committed from 1975-79. That tribunal should be held outside Cambodia.
The role of Cambodia's donors in promoting major human rights improvements is crucial. At the recent meeting of the Cambodia Consultative Group (CG), convened by the World Bank in Tokyo on February 25-26, Cambodia received pledges of some $470 million in response to an appeal by Prime Minister Hun Sen for a three-year package of $1.3 billion. However, aid commitments by bilateral donors and international financial institutions were conditioned on the government's implementation of political, economic and social reforms that it promised to undertake.
We welcome this development and urge the donors to strictly monitor the government's compliance with its commitments. Following the donor meeting, CG officials stated, "The Government recognizes that the donor community is expecting actions, not words." And the government agreed to quarterly meetings with Phnom Penh-based donors to monitor implementation of the various reforms. This should be an open and transparent process, with regular reports circulated to the donors and made public -- both in Cambodia and internationally.
The Cambodian government, in a report prepared prior to the CG, vowed to uphold human rights, affirming its "unbreakable attachment to liberal democracy, to the freedom of expression, to an independent judiciary, to neutrality and discipline in the armed forces and the national police, to the strengthening of the rule of law and compliance with national and international laws, to encouraging all strata of civil society to participate actively in the political, economic and social life of the country..."
The question now is how vigorously will Hun Sen, Prince Ranariddh, and Cambodia's other elected leaders pursue these broad objectives in ways that will substantially improve the lives and welfare of Cambodia's people, while protecting them from abusive and corrupt official behavior?
Human Rights Watch continues to strongly support increased and unconditional assistance for humanitarian, human rights and democracy-building projects through non-governmental organizations. In considering the Administration's FY 2000 request for $20 million for Cambodia, we would urge Congress to explicitly target any U.S. bilateral assistance for these purposes and to continue channeling such aid through NGOs. Should the Cambodian Government make concrete, verifiable progress toward respecting basic human rights and ending official impunity over the next year (according, for example, to the steps outlined below), we believe the Administration should leave open the possibility of resuming direct non-humanitarian aid to the government at the next CG. But no such assistance should given without tangible results and the full agreement of Congress.
Japan, as Cambodia's top donor and host of the CG, pledged $100 million -- more than 20 percent of the total amount pledged -- and said it was considering restoring a bilateral yen loan program that has been suspended since 1974, depending on Cambodia's economic performance. But we are disappointed that the Japanese government focused mainly on restoring stability in Cambodia and did not link any of its aid to human rights improvements -- even though Japan's own guidelines for Official Development Assistance (ODA) require that human rights and democratization be considered in giving aid.
On the other hand, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura met with Hun Sen in Tokyo and told him that "criminals responsible for genocide and other acts (by Khmer Rouge leaders) must be brought to justice," according to foreign ministry sources. He also raised concern about abuses committed in connection with the July 1997 coup. This was a positive step.
