Overview

• On July 11 in Paris, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee formally inscribed Cambodia’s former Khmer Rouge torture and execution sites—Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Choeung Ek killing field and M-13 prison.
• The three locations become Cambodia’s first modern conflict-related entries and rank among the world’s earliest World Heritage nominations linked to recent atrocities.
• Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered Cambodians to beat drums across the country on Sunday morning to commemorate the listing and reinforce the message that peace must be defended.
• Tuol Sleng (S-21) held and tortured about 15,000 detainees, Choeung Ek yielded more than 6,000 bodies from over 100 mass graves, and M-13 prison remains a symbol of rural brutality.
• The inscription aims to preserve these sites as educational memorials, deepen global awareness of genocide and build on the accountability achieved by the UN-backed tribunal that convicted senior Khmer Rouge figures.