STATEMENT

The State Department strongly supports and has called for investigations of the serious human rights violations, including politically-motivated killings, that have occurred and continue to occur in Cambodia. Those identified as responsible should be brought to justice.

In support of this goal, we have provided funding to the UN Center for Human Rights in Cambodia, which is effectively investigating and documenting human rights crimes and abuses.

The State Department shares the objective of holding accountable all gross violators of human rights. That goal has motivated our efforts to establish international tribunals to bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes against humanity and war crimes. For example, we are working to bring to justice those most culpable for the planning and execution of the crimes against humanity of the 1975-1979 period.

U.S. policy does not support the establishment of a tribunal for the purpose of investigating allegations of human rights violations and other crimes focused only on single individual, as called for in House Resolution 533.

If passed, this Resolution, like the numerous other resolutions passed by the House and Senate, does not have the force of law and is not binding on the Administration. It reflects, in this case, the opinion of the House of Representatives.