[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 399 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 399
Urging the President to provide encouragement and support for the
ratification, establishment, and financing of a tribunal for the
prosecution of surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 25, 2004
Ms. Millender-McDonald (for herself, Mr. Rohrabacher, and Mr. Lantos)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Urging the President to provide encouragement and support for the
ratification, establishment, and financing of a tribunal for the
prosecution of surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime.
Whereas the Khmer Rouge regime of Democratic Kampuchea, led by Pol Pot,
Secretary General of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, and other members
of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist
Party of Kampuchea, subjected the people of Cambodia, including various
religious groups and ethnic minorities, to genocide and other crimes
against humanity between April 17, 1975, and January 7, 1979;
Whereas genocide and other crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer
Rouge regime led to the deaths of over 1,700,000 Cambodians;
Whereas former United States Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, stated in
1991: ``Cambodia and the U.S. are both signatories to the Genocide
Convention and we will support efforts to bring to justice those
responsible for the mass murders of the 1970s if the new Cambodian
government chooses to pursue this path'';
Whereas the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) states that
``it is the policy of the United States to support efforts to bring to
justice members of the Khmer Rouge for their crimes against humanity''
and ``urges the President to collect, or assist appropriate
organizations and individuals to collect relevant data on crimes of
genocide committed in Cambodia; . . . to encourage the establishment of
a national or international criminal tribunal for the prosecution of
those accused of genocide in Cambodia; and . . . to provide such
national or international tribunal with information collected pursuant
to'' the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act;
Whereas the Group of Experts for Cambodia, established pursuant to United
Nations General Assembly Resolution 52/135, recommended in a report
dated February 18, 1999, that ``the United Nations establish an ad hoc
international tribunal to try Khmer Rouge officials for crimes against
humanity and genocide'' and that ``as a matter of prosecutorial policy,
the independent prosecutor appointed by the United Nations limit his or
her investigations to those persons most responsible for the most
serious violations of international human rights law and exercise his or
her discretion regarding investigations, indictments and trials so as to
fully take into account the twin goals of individual accountability and
national reconciliation in Cambodia'';
Whereas, after 5 years of negotiations, the United Nations and the Royal
Government of Cambodia have agreed to establish a tribunal, the
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the Prosecution of
Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic Kampuchea, that
recognizes Cambodian sovereignty and has jurisdiction under Cambodian
law to try those accused of crimes against humanity during the Khmer
Rouge regime;
Whereas, although a majority of the judges on the tribunal will be from
Cambodia, all decisions will require the affirmative vote of at least
one judge nominated by the Secretary General of the United Nations;
Whereas the Extraordinary Chambers will combine the advantages of national
justice with international procedural and legal standards in a manner
similar to the tribunals established for Sierra Leone, East Timor, and
Kosovo;
Whereas, on May 13, 2003, the United Nations General Assembly approved the
agreement between the United Nations and the Royal Government of
Cambodia and appealed to the international community to provide
assistance, including financial and personnel support, to the
Extraordinary Chambers;
Whereas, on June 6, 2003, the United Nations and the Royal Government of
Cambodia signed an agreement ``to regulate the cooperation between the
United Nations and the Royal Government of Cambodia in bringing to trial
senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea'';
Whereas the agreement now awaits ratification by the National Assembly of
Cambodia and financial support from the international community;
Whereas Chhit Choeun (also known as Ta Mok), former Chief of the General Staff
of the Armed Forces of the Khmer Rouge, and Kang Khek Iev (also known as
Deuch), commandant of the Tuol Sleng prison during the Khmer Rouge
regime, are now in detention in Cambodia awaiting trial; and
Whereas other surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime continue to live
freely in Cambodia with complete impunity: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) urges the President to encourage the National Assembly
of Cambodia to ratify the agreement between the United Nations
and the Royal Government of Cambodia to establish a tribunal,
the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for the
Prosecution of Crimes Committed during the Period of Democratic
Kampuchea, for the prosecution of surviving leaders of the
Khmer Rouge regime of Democratic Kampuchea who committed
genocide and other crimes against humanity between April 17,
1975, and January 7, 1979; and
(2) urges the President, after such agreement is ratified,
to provide support for the establishment and financing of the
Extraordinary Chambers, consistent with the Cambodian Genocide
Justice Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note).
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