Justice done? How Cambodia is dealing with its past

Justice done? How Cambodia is dealing with its past and how the Khmer Rouge Tribunal did (or did not) contribute to overcome the trauma of the genocide Date: Monday 23 September 2019 Time: 12:00-13:30 Venue: Bergen Global, Jekteviksbakken 31 From 1975 to 1979 the Khmer Rouge killed approximately 2 Million people which was equivalent to 25% of the population. Women were forced into marriages and child labour was widespread. 40 years after the liberation of Phnom Penh from the Khmer Rouge the wounds of the genocide have not yet fully healed. Cambodia and its population are affected by the atrocities until today. But the young Cambodians who were born after the fall of the Khmer Rouge show little interest in dealing with their country’s past. The presentation will touch on various issues of the genocide and discuss the question if the Khmer Rouge Tribunal made a meaningful contribution to healing the wounds of the past. Ali Al-Nasani’s presentation will be followed by a discussion with Hanne Sophie Greve, chaired by Elin Skaar (CMI). Ali Al-Nasani is the Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Phnom Penh, a German political foundation that has been working in Cambodia since 1992 on issues such as Land Rights and Natural Resources, Gender and Democracy, and Dealing With The Past. Hanne Sophie Greve is a Norwegian judge with a long history of working in the field of human rights. She is a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. She has also worked as a Commissioner in the UN War Crimes Commission for the Former Yugoslavia and as an expert witness with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.