Three Cambodian sites, infamous for their roles in the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime, were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list on Friday during the 47th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris.
This inscription marks the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge’s rise to power in 1975, a regime responsible for the deaths of approximately 1.7 million Cambodians through starvation, torture, and mass executions until its fall in 1979.
The sites include two prisons — Tuol Sleng and M-13 — and the Choeung Ek execution site, each a stark reminder of the genocide that scarred Cambodia’s history.
Tuol Sleng, a former high school in Phnom Penh, was transformed into the notorious S-21 prison, where around 15,000 people endured imprisonment and torture.
Today, it serves as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, preserving victims’ mugshots and torture equipment to educate visitors about the atrocities.
Choeung Ek, located south of the capital, was a “killing field” where mass executions took place, with over 6,000 bodies later exhumed from its mass graves.
M-13, in rural Kampong Chhnang province, was an early Khmer Rouge prison where interrogation and torture methods were developed, now a derelict site.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet marked the UNESCO listing with a call for nationwide drum-beating ceremonies on Sunday to honor the inscription.
“May this inscription serve as a lasting reminder that peace must always be defended,” Hun Manet said in a video message aired on state television.
The listing, Cambodia’s first for a modern conflict-related site, joins iconic landmarks like the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Giza on UNESCO’s prestigious list.
Youk Chhang, executive director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, emphasized the educational value of the designation, noting it will help younger generations understand the nation’s painful past.