Khmer Rouge Sites in Cambodia Added to UNESCO Heritage List
On July 11, 2025, UNESCO added three historic sites, associated with the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime, to its World Heritage List. This was done during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris and commemorated approximately 50 years since the regime’s emergence. UNESCO hopes that preserving these places will allow for a reminder of the past, as well as, promote peace and education.
Sites of Brutality Become Sites of Remembrance
The three sites, that have been added are:
• Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) in Phnom Penh – a former high school repurposed as a prison where over 15,000 people were tortured.
• M-13 prison in Kampong Chhnang province – early secret prisons that were operated by the Khmer Rouge.
• Choeung Ek Killing Fields, 15km south of Phnom Penh – killing fields with mass executions and burials, recognized globally by the film The Killing Fields.
The sites represent some of the worst actions in Cambodia history where nearly 1.7 million people died between 1975 and 1979 during the Khmer Rouge regime.
Remembering the Past, Educating the Future
On Sunday morning, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet welcomed the recognition and encouraged everyone to sound the drums around the nation to celebrate. In a video message, he said, “Hopefully this listing is a constant reminder that peace must always be defended.”
Youk Chhang who heads the Documentation Center of Cambodia, explained the purpose of these locations was to change the way the younger generations view Cambodia. These historical sites are to promote healing and provide awareness of the nation’s past.
This listing, titled The Cambodian Genocide: The Choeung Ek Killing Fields, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, and the associated sites under the Vann Molyvann Master Class of Modernism nomination is Cambodia’s first nomination of a modern historical site, particularly a modern historical site that relates to recent conflicts and genocide in the country. Cambodia never had a World Heritage listing for a modern historical site before – it had ancient sites listed – Angkor, Preah Vihear, Sambo Prei Kuk and Koh Ker.
International Thematic Recognition of Cambodia’s Painful History
The Khmer Rouge came to power on April 17, 1975 and displaced hundreds of thousands of people from urban into rural areas. Many of them were starved and tortured and killed. The Khmer Rouge period ended in 1979 due to the invasion of Vietnam forces. In 2022, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal announced its closure after 16 years despite having convicted only 3 leaders against a budget of $337 million.
The new UNESCO recognition is also an indication of the shift towards recognizing locations, particularly modern conflict areas, and not just ancient places on the cultural heritage agenda.