The German government Thursday signed over 1.5 million euros (US$1.9 million) to the Victims Unit of the Khmer Rouge tribunal, a donation that will be dispersed over the next two years to help process more than 2,500 victim and civil party applications. Administrative director Sean Visoth and Juergen Schilling, head of the Cambodian branch of the NGO Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), signed the funding agreements that will support the unit's work.

The tribunal is the first international or hybrid court to allow victims to fully participate in the trials of their accused persecutors. The Victims Unit was established as a contact point for victims and their legal representatives, but suffered the brunt of a $40 million shortfall at the court after being initially left out of the budget.