Paris Peace Accords and UNTAC's Unprecedented Mandate
In October 1991, Cambodia's four warring factions gathered in Paris to sign a comprehensive peace agreement. The Paris Peace Accords ended more than two decades of civil war and international isolation. The agreement called for a ceasefire, disarmament of all armed forces, and UN-supervised elections to establish a legitimate government.
The Paris Accords assigned the United Nations an unprecedented role in world history. The UN Security Council established the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in February 1992, giving it direct control over Cambodia's government during the transition period. For the first and only time, the United Nations became the sovereign authority of an independent nation.
UNTAC's mandate included supervising the ceasefire, disarming military forces, controlling key administrative structures, ensuring respect for human rights, and organizing free and fair elections. Starting July 1, 1992, UNTAC assumed direct control of five crucial government ministries: foreign affairs, defense, security, finance, and communications. Japanese diplomat Yasushi Akashi led the mission as the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, effectively serving as Cambodia's head of state.
UNTAC Operations (1992-1993)
At its peak, UNTAC comprised over 22,000 personnel from 46 countries. The mission included 15,991 military troops, 3,359 civilian police officers, and thousands of civilian staff members. Australian General John Sanderson commanded the military component, while Dutch official Klaas Roos led the civilian police. The entire operation cost $1.6 billion.
UNTAC successfully disarmed approximately 50,000 troops from the participating factions and oversaw the repatriation of 360,000 refugees and displaced persons. The mission established a framework for electoral operations that included 198 international staff operating from provincial and district centers, supported by over 50,000 Cambodian electoral workers.
The Khmer Rouge initially signed the Paris Accords but withdrew from cooperation in June 1992. Rather than disarm and participate in elections, the Khmer Rouge launched attacks on peacekeepers and carried out a campaign of violence aimed at sabotaging the peace process. Despite this resistance, UNTAC pressed forward with its mission.
UNTAC's massive international presence transformed Phnom Penh. UN personnel received mission subsistence allowances of $145 per day on top of their regular salaries, fueling dramatic economic changes. Housing rents soared to $6,000-8,000 per month for properties rented by international staff. An artificial economic boom took hold, with concerns mounting about what would happen when the UN departed.
The May 1993 Elections
In May 1993, over 4.2 million Cambodians participated in UN-supervised elections. The voter turnout rate reached nearly 90 percent of registered voters. Cambodians turned out in these extraordinary numbers despite serious threats. The Khmer Rouge had been attacking electoral personnel since November 1992, and the CPP conducted intimidation campaigns in areas under its control.
The elections took place over six days, from May 23 to May 28, 1993. More than 50,000 Cambodian electoral staff worked alongside 900 international polling station officers to ensure voting could proceed across the country. The head of UNTAC declared the elections free and fair.
Prince Norodom Ranariddh's royalist party FUNCINPEC won the election with 45.47 percent of the vote, securing 58 seats in the 120-seat Constituent Assembly. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party, which had governed Cambodia since 1979, came in second with 38.23 percent and 51 seats. Twenty political parties participated in the elections, with four winning seats in the new Constituent Assembly.
UNTAC operations came at a significant cost. Eighty-two people died during the mission, including peacekeepers, civilian staff, and local employees. Among the dead were two Japanese peacekeepers: election observer Atsuhito Nakata, killed in April 1993, and police officer Haruyuki Takata, killed in May 1993. These were the first Japanese casualties in overseas operations since World War II, sparking intense debate in Japan about its role in international peacekeeping.
Coalition Government Formation
The CPP refused to accept its electoral defeat. Despite losing the election, Hun Sen and his supporters used the threat of renewed civil war and claims of a secessionist movement in eastern Cambodia to force their way into power. The United Nations, eager to complete its mission and avoid renewed violence, accepted a compromise that violated the electoral results.
In September 1993, the Constituent Assembly adopted a new constitution establishing Cambodia as a constitutional monarchy. The constitution elevated Prince Norodom Sihanouk to King. The new government had an unprecedented structure with two prime ministers: Prince Norodom Ranariddh as First Prime Minister and Hun Sen as Second Prime Minister.
This arrangement attempted to bridge the deep divisions between the royalist FUNCINPEC party and the CPP. In practice, it created a government divided against itself. While both parties formally shared power at the national level, the CPP maintained control over most security forces and refused to share power at the district and local levels, where actual governance took place.
UNTAC officially withdrew in September 1993. Nearly all UN military forces, police, and civilian staff had left Cambodia by November 15, 1993. Cambodia regained full sovereignty after more than a year of direct UN administration.
Democratic Backsliding (1993-1997)
The coalition government proved unstable from its inception. Throughout the period from 1993 to 1997, tensions between the two parties steadily increased. The CPP used its control of security forces to intimidate opponents and gradually consolidate power.
Opposition parties faced systematic harassment. The Khmer Nation Party, led by Sam Rainsy, encountered obstacles to registration, denial of media access, detention of party workers, and violent attacks on its members. In 1996 alone, security forces killed journalist and KNP member Thun Bunly, along with other KNP officials including Khem Khin and Soeun Sim. More than thirty cases of extrajudicial killings by police and military personnel were documented that year, with few arrests made.
Cambodia's judiciary remained weak and subject to executive influence. Judges received less than living wages and faced widespread corruption. Courts struggled to prosecute members of the military and security forces even when they committed serious crimes. The legal system failed to protect citizens' rights or hold powerful individuals accountable.
UN human rights monitors observed these troubling trends. In April 1996, UN Special Representative Michael Kirby warned of evidence pointing toward a return to autocratic rule. He documented obstacles placed in the way of opposition parties, denial of media access, and the expulsion of elected National Assembly members. Fifteen months before violence erupted, the UN was publicly warning that Cambodia's democratic institutions were under threat.
The July 1997 Coup
On July 5-6, 1997, violent fighting erupted in Phnom Penh. Hun Sen's forces used mortars, artillery, and other heavy weapons in urban areas to defeat FUNCINPEC troops. The fighting showed callous disregard for civilian safety. Offices and residences of FUNCINPEC and Khmer Nation Party officials were attacked and looted by soldiers and police.
Interior Ministry official Hor Sok was captured during the fighting and executed without trial. Prince Ranariddh fled the country. An atmosphere of fear and intimidation descended on the capital. Many believed it was no longer safe to express political views publicly.
On July 9, 1997, UN Special Representative Thomas Hammarberg issued a statement strongly condemning what he called a violent coup d'état. The coup violated Cambodia's constitution and international law, Hammarberg declared. It overturned the will of the Cambodian people expressed in the 1993 UN-sponsored election, in which 90 percent of eligible voters had courageously participated despite widespread intimidation.
International response was swift. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations convened an emergency meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 10. Prince Ranariddh traveled to New York to brief UN officials and call for international pressure on the coup leaders. He urged economic sanctions and non-recognition of the new government. Hammarberg called on the eighteen countries that had signed the Paris Peace Accords to convene an urgent meeting to restore democratic institutions.
Some FUNCINPEC forces regrouped in rural areas and reportedly disarmed more than 2,000 CPP soldiers in two provinces. This resistance proved short-lived. Hun Sen consolidated control over the government and security forces. Cambodia's brief democratic opening had ended.
The 1997 coup established the political pattern that continues to shape Cambodia today. The events of July 5-6, 1997, marked the moment when Cambodia's experiment with multiparty democracy came to a violent end, replaced by single-party control that Hun Sen would maintain for decades to come.