Kingdom finds another $1.1m for KR tribunal

The Cambodian government on Monday pledged an additional $1.1 million to cover national-side salaries at the Khmer Rouge tribunal for the first quarter of the year during a high-level meeting between officials and UN delegates, the court announced yesterday.

According to the announcement, the UN delegation also agreed that UN Special Expert to the Tribunal David Scheffer would “devote maximum efforts, working with representatives of the [government], to mobilise further funds towards the 2014 budget of the national component of the ECCC”.

Court spokesman Neth Pheaktra said yesterday that the funds pledged by the government would come on top of the $1.7 million already pledged. “It is [an] additional contribution,” he said. “[The] $1.7 million is … to support the function of the court, not cover the salary of staff. So, [in] total, the Cambodian [government] will contribute $2.8 million for 2014.” The total national-side budget for 2014 is $6.4 million, Pheaktra added.