Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Adoption of the Draft Agreement by the U.N. Third Committee over the Khmer Rouge Trials

May 3, 2003

Japan welcomes the fact that a draft resolution, of which Japan is a main sponsor, for approving a draft agreement concerning cooperation between the Government of Cambodia and the United Nations for the Khmer Rouge (KR) Trials was adopted by the Third Committee of the United Nations on May 3.
After the announcement by the United Nations in February last year that it would drop talks with the Government of Cambodia, Japan has been working for the realisation of the Khmer Rouge Trials, especially by urging the two parties to resume talks and sponsoring the draft resolution to give the UN Secretary-General a clear mandate to reopen negotiations with the Government of Cambodia.
It is the position of the Government of Japan that, respecting the will of the Cambodian government and people to the fullest, the former Khmer Rouge leaders involved in the atrocities during the Democratic Kampuchea period should be properly punished. Japan thus hopes that the Government of Cambodia and the United Nations will continue their efforts with support from the international community, toward the realization of the Khmer Rouge Trials.

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