WASHINGTON -- The New Year may finally see the start of trials for Khmer Rouge leaders responsible for the deaths of nearly 2 million Cambodians in the 1970s, if the Cambodian government seizes the opportunity. But it's also possible that the United Nations could be dragged into a flawed process to set up a sham tribunal. A tribunal that doesn't meet international standards would be a great setback for the Cambodian people, and would also damage the U.N.'s credibility.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen welcomed a resolution adopted recently by the U.N. General Assembly calling on Secretary General Kofi Annan to "resume negotiations, without delay, to conclude an agreement" for a tribunal to conduct Khmer Rouge trials for genocide and crimes against humanity.

But Cambodia refused to cosponsor the U.N. measure, put forward at the last moment by Japan and France. Thirty governments abstained on the U.N. vote, including Canada and most members of the European Union, concerned about Cambodia's apparent lack of political will. Negotiations between the U.N. and Cambodia have been under way since 1997, when Cambodia first asked for the U.N.'s help, with many obstacles and problems throughout the process.