Open Society Justice Initiative Calls on Khmer Rouge Court to Fix Human Resource Problems

NEW YORK—The Open Society Justice Initiative today welcomed the public release of a United Nations audit highlighting serious flaws in hiring and other personnel practices at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The court must immediately and credibly address these flaws if it expects donors to continue supporting the court, the Justice Initiative said.

The audit commissioned by the United Nations Development Program—the UN body charged with overseeing international donor funds earmarked for the Cambodian side of the court's budget—found that human resource management was inadequate by nearly every measure. Most importantly, the audit, released publicly this week, found that a significant portion of the staff hired by the Cambodian side of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia did not meet the minimum job requirements defined by the court. Regrettably, the audit did not address allegations that Cambodian court staff were required to kick back a percentage of their salaries in exchange for their jobs.

"The [court] must take immediate action to address the problems exposed by the audit and to pro-actively combat the possibility for corrupt practices to occur," said Robert O. Varenik, acting executive director of the Justice Initiative. "Releasing the audit is an important step for the court, but will do little to effect needed reform unless further steps are taken to fix the court's flaws."

Specifically, the Justice Initiative recommended the court take the following steps:

• Institute the best anti-corruption practices used in other international and hybrid tribunals;
• Install an experienced ombudsperson to whom employees and officials can confidentially report inappropriate requests for payment or any other violations of employment practices or ethical conduct;
• Hire only qualified staff who meet minimum job requirements for all key positions in the court.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia is about to begin a fundraising drive to generate additional support for its operations. The Justice Initiative urges prospective donors to play a key role in making sure the court takes the necessary action to improve its practices by:

• Conditioning future funding on the court's effective efforts to address the problems highlighted in the United Development Program audit and to produce demonstrated results;
• Mandating regular and transparent financial reporting by both United Nations Development Program and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia;
• Insisting on unified, transparent, and professional hiring practices and reporting structures.

"The [court] needs to convince donors and the public that it is willing to take the steps necessary to address the challenges it confronts," said Varenik. "It cannot settle for superficial solutions."