Rights group, UN slam Cambodia for failure to fund Khmer Rouge tribunal

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The U.N. and a leading human rights group have condemned Cambodia for failing to pay its share of costs for the U.N.-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal.

More than half the tribunal's Cambodian employees went on strike Monday to demand wages that are months overdue.

Human Rights Watch said Thursday the failure to pay salaries is a "delaying tactic" by a government led by former Khmer Rouge members.

U.N. Ambassador David Sheffer said the government has a legal obligation to pay Cambodian staffers.

Government spokesmen Phay Siphan and Ek Tha declined to comment on the allegations.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died under the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s from starvation, disease, forced labor and executions.

The tribunal is trying two former top leaders of the regime.