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UNTAC
HISTORY
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WHAT WAS UNTAC?
The UN peacekeeping operation in Cambodia in 1992-93
was unique. It was the first occasion on which the UN has taken
over the administration of an independent member state, organized
and run an election (as opposed to monitoring or supervising),
had its own radio station and gaol, and been responsible for
promoting and safeguarding human rights at national level. As
the most comprehensive 'second-generation' UN peace operation
to date, it is replete with lessons for the future.
The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
(UNTAC) was set up in February 1992 to implement the Paris Peace
Accords of October 1991, the product of intense diplomatic activity
over many years. Its job was to restore peace and civil government
in a country ruined by decades of civil war and neglect, to hold
free and fair elections leading to a new constitution and to
'kick-start' the rehabilitation of the country. It was to exercise
'supervision' or 'supervision or control' over all aspects of
government, including foreign affairs, national defence, finance,
public security and information, and to supervise, monitor and
verify the withdrawal and non-return of foreign military forces;
to canton, disarm and demobilize Cambodia's fighting factions,
confiscate caches of weapons and military supplies, promote and
protect human rights, oversee military security and maintain
law and order, repatriate and resettle refugees and displaced
persons, assist in mine clearance and the establishment of training
programmes in mine clearance and mine awareness, rehabilitate
essential infrastructure and assist in economic reconstruction
and development.
Headed by Yasushi Akashi, with Lieutenant-General
John Sanderson as the head of the Military Component, UNTAC involved
15 900 military, 3 600 civilian police, 2 000 civilians and 450
UN Volunteers, as well as locally recruited staff and interpreters.
It cost over $1.5 billion, and was carried out within budget
and on time.
Over 4 million Cambodians (about 90% of eligible voters) participated
in the May 1993 elections, although the Khmer Rouge or Party
of Democratic Kampuchea (PDK), whose forces were never actually
disarmed or demobilized, barred some people from participating.
Prince Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC Party was the top vote recipient
with a 45.5% vote, followed by Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party
and the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, respectively. FUNCINPEC
then entered into a coalition with the other parties that had
participated in the election. The parties represented in the
120-member assembly proceeded to draft and approve a new constitution,
which was promulgated September 24, 1993. It established a multiparty
liberal democracy in the framework of a constitutional monarchy,
with the former Prince Sihanouk elevated to King. Prince Ranariddh
and Hun Sen became First and Second Prime Ministers, respectively,
in the Royal Cambodian Government (RGC). The constitution provides
for a wide range of internationally recognized human rights.
On October 4, 2004, the
Cambodian National Assembly ratified an agreement with the
United Nations on the establishment of a tribunal to try senior
leaders responsible for the atrocities committed by the Khmer
Rouge. Donor countries have pledged the $43 million international
share of the three-year tribunal budget, while the Cambodian
government’s share of the budget is
$13.3 million. The tribunal plans to begin trials of senior Khmer
Rouge leaders in 2007.
DURATION: March 1992 - September 1993
STRENGTH: Approximately 22,000 military and civilian personnel
FATALITIES: 78 (4 military
observers, 41 other military personnel, 14 civilian police,
5 international civilian staff and 14 local staff).
EXPENDITURES: $1,620,963,300 (UNAMIC and UNTAC combined)
