After
nearly five years of negotiations, the United Nations stated on
February 8 that it was ending its effort to work with the Cambodian
government to establish a war crimes tribunal to prosecute the leaders
of the Khmer Rouge for the killing of an estimated 1.7 million people.
The
United Nations withdrew from the negotiations because the Cambodia
government repeatedly reneged on its agreements to accept key provisions
of the proposed tribunal - including one that would have assured
that no one would be exempt from prosecution. The tribunal was to
have authority to try those who had the greatest responsibility
for mass murder in Cambodia, but only a handful of senior leaders
of the Khmer Rouge were expected to face trial.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said the United Nations had to
disassociate itself from the effort because the Cambodian government
was jeopardizing the tribunal's "independence, impartiality,
and objectivity," a UN spokesman said.
Although
many U.S. government officials expressed disappointment that the
United Nations withdrew from the negotiations, human rights advocates
said the United Nations had no choice but to withdraw from the talks.
Cambodia
has vowed to press on with the creation of the tribunal, with or
without U.N. assistance.
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