Background Conflicts

Abstract

This chapter addresses the background conflicts that led to the formation of the hybrid tribunals that are discussed in later chapters of the book. It includes discussion of the history of the conflicts as well as the behavior of the major actors and events in the conflicts that were ultimately fell under the jurisdiction of the tribunals. These cases include: The rule of the Khmer Rouge over Cambodia from 1976–1979 which ultimately led to the creation of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). The Sierra Leonean civil war between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the government of Sierra Leone which led to the creation of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The violence by pro-Indonesian forces against the people of East Timor in the wake of East Timor’s United Nations (UN)-sponsored referendum on independence in 1999. This conflict led to the creation of the Serious Crimes regime under the sponsorship of the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET). In this case, the violence was largely carried out by the Indonesian Military (TNI) as well as pro-Indonesian Timorese militia forces. Finally, the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia between ethnic Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and Kosovar Albanians stretching from 1992–1999 led to the creation of the Bosnian War Crimes Chamber (BWCC) and the hybrid courts for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).