A Khmer Rouge Tribunal lawyer has donated hundreds of Civil Party files to the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam), in what was hailed as “the next great step forward” for justice for the victims of the genocidal regime.
Martine Jacquin, Civil Party Co-Lawyer for Group 3 at the tribunal, officially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), donated some 1,400 files.
DC-Cam, which maintains the world’s largest repository of the Khmer Rouge documents, said the donation is a testament to efforts to increase the interests of civil parties, victims and surviving family members from the regime.
“DC-Cam is looking forward to working with individual civil parties, victims, surviving family members and other stakeholders to coordinate the review, selective public release, and further educational and research use of these sensitive yet extraordinarily significant, historical documents.
“Justice should not, and cannot, end when a court renders its final judgment, and coordinating the organised review, selective release, and further educational use and dissemination of these records represents the next great step forward in Cambodia’s realisation of justice for the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime.
“The donation of these sensitive records represents the next great step forward in these endeavours by way of furthering the civil parties, victims and surviving family members’ interests in ensuring justice does not end with the closure of the [ECCC],” DC-Cam said on October 10.
Since 1995, DC-Cam has assisted survivors in the filing of complaints and collection of stories that supported public memory, genocide education and the work of the ECCC, it said.
ECCC spokesman Neth Pheaktra told The Post that the court will continue its remaining work for three years, over 2023 to 2026.
This would focus on the management of court documents to ensure public access for study and research to understand the history of the Democratic Kampuchea.
“We are strengthening education to the public by disseminating the achievements of the Khmer Rouge tribunal over the past 17 years. A lot of work was carried out during the court proceedings,” Pheaktra said.
DC-Cam said Jacquin’s “extraordinary” gift would help realise victims’ wishes by ensuring their accounts would endure.
“With this extraordinary donation by Jacquin, DC-Cam looks forward to fulfilling the wishes of individual civil parties, victims and family members, to ensure their stories continue on for the education of the next generation, the fulfilment of justice in Cambodia and the legacy of international law for post-conflict societies,” it said.
