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Prosecuting War Crimes in Myanmar and Ukraine
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A conversation with Lars Olsen about Cambodia’s hybrid tribunal and lessons for prosecuting war crimes elsewhere.
War crimes tribunals have been actively touted by Ukrainian authorities and in Myanmar by the exiled National Unity Government, but what type of in-country tribunal would suit best? Or should alleged criminals be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague?Cambodia and its hybrid court serves as an unprecedented example with successful prosecutions registered against Khmer Rouge leaders held responsible for the deaths of up to 2.3 million people under Pol Pot during the late 1970s.A hybrid court allows for a mix of local and international prosecutors and judges and for the hearings to be held where the crimes were committed, which, as Lars Olsen says, does help with the healing process as opposed to conducting trials in a remote, far away European city.However, interference by local politicians and donor countries and intractable disputes between between local and international legal staff were not uncommon and proved controversial.Olsen was seconded from Norway to the United Nations Mission in Kosovo where he worked in a hybrid judicial body resolving property disputes in a post-conflict environment in the mid-2000s.In March 2009, he moved to Cambodia as the U.N. spokesperson for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, charged with prosecuting Khmer Rouge leaders. He spent seven-and-a-half years in that role and served as a legal officer for the court’s Office of Administration.He also holds an advanced law degree from the University of Oslo and is currently a senior adviser for the Conservative Party in Norway.Olsen spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Phnom Penh about the pros and cons of a hybrid tribunal and how the Cambodian experience would benefit efforts to find some kind of justice for the victims of conflicts in Myanmar and Ukraine.
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War crimes tribunals have been actively touted by Ukrainian authorities and in Myanmar by the exiled National Unity Government, but what type of in-country tribunal would suit best? Or should alleged criminals be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague?Cambodia and its hybrid court serves as an unprecedented example with successful prosecutions registered against Khmer Rouge leaders held responsible for the deaths of up to 2.3 million people under Pol Pot during the late 1970s.A hybrid court allows for a mix of local and international prosecutors and judges and for the hearings to be held where the crimes were committed, which, as Lars Olsen says, does help with the healing process as opposed to conducting trials in a remote, far away European city.However, interference by local politicians and donor countries and intractable disputes between between local and international legal staff were not uncommon and proved controversial.Olsen was seconded from Norway to the United Nations Mission in Kosovo where he worked in a hybrid judicial body resolving property disputes in a post-conflict environment in the mid-2000s.In March 2009, he moved to Cambodia as the U.N. spokesperson for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, charged with prosecuting Khmer Rouge leaders. He spent seven-and-a-half years in that role and served as a legal officer for the court’s Office of Administration.He also holds an advanced law degree from the University of Oslo and is currently a senior adviser for the Conservative Party in Norway.Olsen spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt in Phnom Penh about the pros and cons of a hybrid tribunal and how the Cambodian experience would benefit efforts to find some kind of justice for the victims of conflicts in Myanmar and Ukraine.
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