Pact Exempts Americans

It now makes sense. There was a motive behind the tub-thumbing of previous months in which the United States had refused to donate further to a tribunal to prosecute surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge.

Perhaps U.S. beancounters and lawmakers wanted to first ratify a non-extradition pact before throwing further financial support into the Cambodian Extraordinary Chambers.

Boston.com ran this yarn by Ker Munthit, of Associated Press.

Cambodia's legislature on Wednesday ratified a pact with the United States exempting each country's citizens from extradition for prosecution by the International Criminal Court, an agreement sought by Washington to avoid political trials of its citizens.

All 89 members of the National Assembly voted to approve the pact, whose main intent is to exempt Americans from prosecution by the court, which is based in the Hague, Netherlands.

So previous statements about the U.S. before providing funding needing to be convinced that the trials will meet international standards of justice can now be understood to mean confidence that safeguards would first be in place to prevent extradition of U.S. troops and other Americans who might face politically-motivated charges.

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