I have dedicated over twenty years of my life to the pursuit of justice for Khmer Rouge victims and survivors, and my work with the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (otherwise known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)) has given me a diverse spectrum of professional skills and experiences that make me well-qualified to be a team leader at the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam). Between 1998 and 2007 (10 years) I worked for DC-Cam and between 2007 through 2018 (11 years) I worked for the ECCC, before returning to DC-Cam on 1 January 2019 as Director for Documentation and Democracy project. I am a child survivor and I have lost the majority of my close family members to the Khmer Rouge. My mother was executed during the Khmer Rouge regime and my brother disappeared. To this day, I have little information on what happened to my brother. In addition, both my father and sister died from malaria during the Khmer Rouge period, so in many ways it is my life’s work to give back to victims and survivors so their memory lives on. While I have worked predominantly in the fields of case analysis, data coding, and research in support of the ECCC and DC-Cam, I have been involved in a wide variety of grassroots projects and I have extensive experience in oral history research. While employed with DC-Cam, I interviewed over a hundred Cambodian and Cham victims, survivors, and Khmer Rouge cadres. I appreciate the importance of education, particularly because it is what gives teams and organizations the core competencies that are crucial to successful communication, learning, and future professional development. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Education and a Master of Law and Political Science degree from the University of Build Bright (BBU), Phnom Penh, Cambodia. To me, leading teams means creating leaders on my team who understand the importance of our collective work. Ultimately, while the desired end state in projects must be measurable and documented for the public and the project’s supporters to see the progress in victims, survivors, and society, it is those small, intimate connections with the people we serve that really makes the value of our service tangible, as well as personally rewarding. I aspire to be the kind of team leader that not only can push teams to exceed the targets for projects but also see the tangible improvements to the individuals we serve.

Summary

Victims of large-scale human rights violations have a fundamental right to reparations grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Unfortunately, rarely, if ever, are mechanisms adopted and implemented that would meaningfully redress the victims. The Cambodian victims of the violations of human rights committed during the Democratic Kampuchea period of 1975 to 1979 – many of whom were admitted as Civil Parties participating in proceedings at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (“ECCC”) – are no different.

Although virtually the entire population was severely traumatized during the Democratic Kampuchea period, formal mental healthcare services for the survivors, as well as others, have been either lacking or woefully inadequate to meet demand. The ECCC – which was established by an Agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia to “brin[g] to trial senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea and those who were most responsible for the crimes and serious violations” in Cambodia between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979 – can only award non-compensatory and symbolic reparations.

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Part I: March 1997- March 1999
by Ambassador Thomas Hammarberg

During my first mission to Cambodia (June 1996) it immediately became clear to me that the Khmer Rouge crimes in the 1970’s still cast a paralysing shadow over Cambodian society. The killings of educated professionals had left gaps that still crippled the judiciary, the government administration, including the health and education structures. The moral impact was even more profound. The fact that no one had been held accountable for the mass killings and other atrocities had clearly contributed to the culture of impunity which was still pervasive in Cambodia.

Wherever I went in Phnom Penh or in the provinces I made a point of discussing the Khmer Rouge legacy and what ought to be done. One message became clear: the crimes were not forgotten. Almost everyone I met was personally affected, had suffered badly and/or had close relatives who died. Even now, more than two decades later, the overwhelming majority wanted those responsible to be tried and punished. The only argument against arrests and trials was the risk of further unrest and civil war. However, I heard many voices saying that not even that should be accepted as a reason to avoid seeking justice.

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