Civilian Police, Commissioner
The Civilian Police consisted of the Operations Branch, the Logistics Branch, the Liaison Branch, the Personnel Branch, and the Inspection and Discipline Branch. The Civilian Police also managed a Special Task Force, which reported to the Operations Branch. Twenty-one provincial headquarters, headed by Provincial Commanders, were also established. The headquarters of the Civilian Police was located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Civilian Police were mandated to ensure that law and order were maintained effectively and impartially in Cambodia, and that human rights were fully protected. Additionally, the Civilian Police: supervised and trained local police; ensured that political rallies were free of harassment and intimidation and that campaigners could exercise freedom of speech; ensured safe and orderly voter registration; monitored static and mobile polling stations during the election for the Cambodian Constituent Assembly held 23-28 May 1993; and assisted refugees returning to Cambodia. Brigadier General Klaas C. Roos of the Netherlands served as the Commissioner of the Civilian Police for the duration of the mission.
Chronological and operations files primarily contain briefs and memoranda issued by the Commissioner and sent to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and the Civilian Police on the following topics: maintenance of security and neutrality in the electoral environment; monitoring of political party activity; the progress of investigations; the operation of the Khmer Police Training School and CIVPOL’s training of Khmer police; operations of the Special Task Force of the Civilian Police; the protection of ethnic Vietnamese and their movements within and out of Cambodia; and the closure of Civilian Police headquarters in September 1993. There are also directives for the Civilian Police when reporting on public meetings, rallies, and demonstrations, when stationed at political party offices, and during the May 1993 election. Chronological and operations files also contain a concept for the withdrawal of the Civilian Police operation.
In addition, the Commissioner’s files contain: briefs on the organization and mandate of the Civilian Police; Standard Operating Procedures for Civilian Police Monitors; summaries of meetings between the Commissioner and leaders of the State of Cambodia (SOC), political parties, and factions; summaries of meetings of Provincial Commanders; briefs describing terrorism and incidents of politically-motivated violence, particularly grenade attacks on political party offices and murders of political party members; a discussion paper titled “UN Peacekeeping: Lessons Learned from the Cambodia Mission”, dated 22 July 1993; an evaluation report on the UNTAC Civilian Police, dating from August 1993. There are also lists with data on the geographic deployment of CIVPOL, and on the strength and nationality of CIVPOL monitors.
Civilian Police, Operations Branch, Communications Centre
Part of the Operations Branch, the Communications Centre was the focal point for the transmission of information to Civilian Police deployed throughout Cambodia. The Centre’s records consist of daily and weekly situation reports compiled by the Civilian Police Deputy Chief of Operations and sent to the Commissioner.
The situation reports detail incidents throughout the provinces, including armed robberies, shootings, shelling, murders, abductions, political intimidation, vehicle theft and traffic accidents. Incidents often were perpetrated by the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (NADK), the Cambodian People’s Armed Forces (CPAF), and the Khmer People National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF). The reports note: CIVPOL’s confiscation of weapons and ammunition; CIVPOL’s monitoring of the activities of political parties; operations at UNTAC-monitored checkpoints; activities of the local police of the State of Cambodia (SOC); ceasefire violations; the movements of Vietnamese; landmine explosions; and anti-UNTAC demonstrations and activities, such as attacks on UN vehicles and the circulation of anti-UNTAC leaflets among the population. Also reported are the activities of the Civilian Police Airport Team stationed at the Pochentong International Airport in Phnom Penh. The Civilian Police Airport Team monitored the arrival and departure of VIPs and items, particularly gold and foreign currencies, being declared at the airport Customs Office.
Records of the CIVPOL Communications Centre also include: weekly reports on arms and ammunitions seized by CIVPOL, noting the locations and circumstances of the seizures; and weekly reports of political intimidation, such as arson, vandalism of party offices and signage, death threats against party members, and bomb throwing at political party offices. In addition, the files contain statistics on political party activity and statistics on voter registration.
Civilian Police, Operations Branch
The Operations Branch was commanded by the Chief of Operations, who reported to the Commissioner.
Records primarily consist of chronological files documenting routine operational activities of the Civilian Police. These hold briefs and memoranda on a range of subjects, including: monitoring and closures of political party offices; the training of local police; activities of factions, including the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (NADK) and the Cambodian People’s Armed Forces (CPAF); activities at road checkpoints; security provided to electoral registration and polling centres; security at the Pochentong International Airport in Phnom Penh; and the harassment of Vietnamese in Cambodia.
The chronological files also include reports on a variety of topics, such as: reconnaissance and familiarization tours of provinces and districts conducted by the Civilian Police; secret meetings held by warring factions; soldiers who approached the Civilian Police after surrendering from factions; conditions in provincial prisons and the status of individual prisoners; the confiscation of weapons and ammunition; and ceasefire violations. Chronological files also contain: leaflets circulated in the local population and collected by UNTAC indicative of anti-UNTAC sentiment and political intimidation; reviews and analyses on the criminal justice system in provinces; and statistics on the movements and resettlement of displaced persons.
In addition, the chronological files contain summaries of meetings held by the Civilian Police with: provincial government representatives; chiefs of local police; representatives of political parties, including the National United Front for and Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC), the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party (BLDP), the Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); and leaders of factions. Daily situation reports and daily patrol reports sent from the CIVPOL Province Commanders to CIVPOL headquarters in Phnom Penh document CIVPOL visits to districts and villages. They are also found in the chronological files, and they note: the status of investigations; conditions in prisons; living conditions in villages, such as the availability of food and potable water, and the conditions of roads and bridges; and civilian complaints against the local police and provincial government officials.
Chronological files of Civilian Police operations in provinces also contain reports of investigations carried out by the Civilian Police. Crimes investigated include: murders of political party members, locally-recruited election staff, and local police; death threats, hand grenade attacks, and arson carried out against political party members; abduction of political party members; attacks and arson on political party offices and disruptions of political party meetings; the removal, destruction, and defacing of political party signboards and posters; forced conscription; attacks on villages by factions; extortion and bribing of local police in communes, at trading posts, and at road checkpoints; land disputes; the circulation of counterfeit money; and thefts of cultural heritage objects at temples. Politically-motivated crime primarily targeted the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party (BLDP); the Cambodia People’s Party (CPP); the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC); the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); and the Molinaka and Naktaorsou Khmer for Freedom Party. The files contain: final and interim reports of investigations; victim and witness statements, as well as transcribed testimony, which often feature fingerprint impressions; hand drawn sketches; and photographs of crime scenes.
Also included among records of the Operations Branch are records of the Special Task Force, which was overseen by the Operations Branch and which reported to the Commissioner through the Chief of Operations. The Special Task Force investigated high-profile and politically sensitive cases and worked closely with Provincial Commanders, who maintained command of all Civilian Police-led investigations in the province. The records of the Special Task Force are arranged in chronological order by case number. The case files consist of: final reports; sworn statements of victims and witnesses; hand drawn maps; photographs of the crime scene; sketches indicating victims’ injuries; death certificates; and investigation diaries of the Special Task Force.
The records of the Operations Branch also include several station diaries and visit registers which document activities at the UNTAC Detention Centre. The UNTAC Detention Centre was administered by the Civilian Police and was located in Phnom Penh. The diaries and registers note: activities of the Detention Centre’s Chief Warden; patrol and hand-over operations at the Detention Centre; cell checking; and the physical condition of individual prisoners.
There are also records pertaining to Civilian Police policy and guidelines, and these include memoranda, briefs, and administrative circulars on topics such as: the maintenance of a neutral political environment; the duties of Civilian Police at polling stations and when monitoring political rallies and public meetings; the carriage of weapons and ammunition and the use of force; the procedures for arrest and prosecution; the procedures for investigation; the security of Vietnamese in Cambodia; and the handling of defectors from the National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (NADK).
In addition, there is one file with information about the remains of American military personnel missing or killed during the Vietnam War and found in various locations in Cambodia. UNTAC obtained this information from Cambodian locals.
Civilian Police, Koh Kong Province
The records document the activities of the Civilian Police stationed in districts in Koh Kong Province in southwestern Cambodia. Included are daily and monthly situation reports prepared by District Commanders and sent to Provincial Commanders, noting the political climate, statistics on returnees, and progress on investigations of criminal activity and human rights violations. There are also briefs, authored by District Commanders, about: seizures of arms and ammunition; incidents, including murder, abduction, rampant firing, banditry, and robbery; faction activities; and weekly crime statistics. Also present are several case files for investigations carried out or monitored by the Civilian Police, including the killing of fourteen Vietnamese fishermen in the Chamkalor Village in the Botum Sakor District in October 1992. The case files contain: final reports, witness statements, hand drawn sketches of the crime scene, and photographs.
Civilian Police Liaison Cell
The Civilian Police Liaison Cell was established following the termination of the UNTAC mandate on 24 September 1993. The Cell was tasked with monitoring the crime situation in Phnom Penh and protecting United Nations personnel and property remaining in Cambodia during the post-UNTAC period. It was headed by the Chief Police Liaison Officer and was located at the headquarters of the Municipal Police Commissioner in Phnom Penh. The records consist of: briefs on the functions of the Civilian Police Liaison Cell; Standard Operating Procedures and administrative instructions for investigating and reporting criminal activity; daily and weekly situation reports noting incidents involving international personnel and local citizens, and activities of the local police; and tables with tallies on crime throughout thedistricts in Phnom Penh. The Civilian Police Liaison Cell was closed on 31 December 1993.