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Audit of UN-backed Cambodian tribunal shows recruitment irregularities

Audit of UN-backed Cambodian tribunal shows recruitment irregularities

The United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia set up to try Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings and other horrific crimes during the late 1970s has made public special audits commissioned by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) showing irregularities in recruitment.

The United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia set up to try Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings and other horrific crimes during the late 1970s has made public special audits commissioned by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) showing irregularities in recruitment.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) yesterday released on its website the findings of the audits of the Cambodian side of the tribunal, together with its responses, “in the interests of transparency and fairness,” said UN spokesperson Michele Montas.

The report found that some national staff recruited did not meet the minimum requirements specified in the vacancy announcements and that recruitment was not always performed in a transparent, competitive and objective manner, she added.

The Phnom Penh-based tribunal was set up – under an agreement signed by the UN and Cambodia – as an independent court using a mixture of Cambodian staff and judges and foreign personnel. It is designated to try those deemed most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979.