The Japanese government has disbursed $220,000 to the UN component of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, bringing their total historical contribution to $88.7 million thus far.
Japan contributed the amount in order to support the tribunal’s judicial process, according to a press statement issued by the Japanese embassy on February 7.
The Japanese government included three views of importance to the tribunal. Chiefly, it said that the Khmer Rouge trials were the completing stage of the Cambodian peace process in order to prevent the recurrence of atrocities committed during the war.
The tribunal will help deliver justice to the victims of the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime and contribute to national reconciliation, the embassy said.
It added that the tribunal “will contribute to strengthening the rule of law in Cambodia as well as in the international community”.
Since the ECCC’s inception, Japan has contributed $88.7 million to the proceedings, including the most recent disbursement – approximately 27 per cent of total donations to the national and UN components of the tribunal.
ECCC spokesman Neth Pheaktra welcomed the assistance and thanked Japan for providing financial support to the tribunal. “Japan remains one of the largest donors to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal,” he said.
The country was followed by the Cambodian government in total contributions with $42 million, or 13 per cent, and Australia with $34 million, or 11 per cent.
The fourth largest contributor was the US, which provided $32 million – a total of 10 per cent, followed by the EU, Sweden, the UK, France and Norway.
According to Pheaktra, the tribunal had spent more than $330.4 million as of December 31, of which $235.66 million was funnelled into the UN side and $94.73 million into the national side.
The ECCC is seeking approval for a proposed budget of $16.18 million for 2022, a decrease of 9.17 per cent from the previous year’s budget, Pheaktra said.
