1. Statelessness, genocide and mass deportations on trial: observations from the Khmer Rouge trials in Cambodia.
- Author
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Sperfeldt, Christoph
- Subjects
- *
FORCED migration , *MASS migrations , *VIETNAMESE people , *CRIMINAL trials , *SOCIAL marginality - Abstract
This article explores the interrelationship between state-manufactured statelessness, mass atrocities (specifically genocide) and a historical cycle of forced migration and mass deportation. It does so through a case study of stateless but long-term resident populations of Vietnamese origin in Cambodia. A specific focus is on how these matters were brought before and were adjudicated by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the hybrid court established to address crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979). The article situates these observations within the broader context of statelessness and recurrent forced migration and deportations affecting this minority group, including more contemporary measures regarding the relocation of communities and the institution of a group-specific identification regime. Appreciating the phenomenon of state-manufactured statelessness helps us better understand the nature and conditions of mass deportations and mass crimes committed against non-citizen populations. It also helps us see state-sponsored statelessness and the mass arbitrary deprivation of citizenship as an early warning for increased risks of mass atrocities, including deportations. International(-ised) criminal trials alone are insufficient to transform such deeply rooted situations of social exclusion, if the non-citizenship status of affected populations remains unaddressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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