Though the world largely ignored the proceedings, an in absentia trial of Khmer Rouge leaders was held in Phnom Penh in 1979. Cold War politics thwarted international recognition of the tribunal then and subsequently. This shortcoming is consistent with failure to give primacy to victims' interests in the development of international human rights law. Finally, “disproportionate revenge” as a Cambodian cultural model fails to explain adequately the nature and scale of Khmer Rouge killing.