On a visit to Phnom Penh's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former S-21 prison where people were held and tortured under the Khmer Rouge, UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany paid tribute to those who suffered there. His message rested on the conviction that records of atrocity are kept not for those who lived them but for those who will come after, and that preserving them is one way a nation teaches its young and builds the conditions for peace. The museum's place in UNESCO's registers, from the 2009 Memory of the World listing of its archives to the 2025 World Heritage inscription of Camb
UNESCO Chief El-Enany Honors Khmer Rouge Victims, Backs Digitisation of Genocide Archives
Victims were detained and tortured at the S-21 prison during the Khmer Rouge era; the visit honors their memory.
Remembrance and education are essential to a culture of peace.
Mark
Why does a UNESCO chief visiting a museum count as news?
Mimi
Because of where he stood. Tuol Sleng was S-21, the prison where people were detained and tortured under the Khmer Rouge. He paid tribute to the victims there and tied it to preserving records.
Mark
What's the preservation effort exactly?
Mimi
The PEACE Project. UNESCO works with Cambodia on it, with support from KOICA, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, to preserve and digitise the historical records.
Luke
Let me mark what we actually know. The reporting says the project exists and what it aims to do. It doesn't say how many documents, how much money, or when it finishes.
Mark
So the goal is stated, but progress isn't measured?
Luke
Right. Aims are attributed to UNESCO. No results are reported here.
Mimi
The recognition is concrete, though. The Memorial Sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2025, and the museum's archives entered Memory of the World in 2009.
Mark
Why does digitising matter beyond storage?
Mimi
The stated reason is access, so younger generations can learn from the history.
Luke
Worth noting that's the intention. Whether access actually widens isn't something this piece can confirm yet.
Le Pouls
- Director-General El-Enany stood inside the former S-21 prison, where detention and torture once took place, turning a visit into a moment of public witness.
- The fragile paper evidence of the Khmer Rouge era faces the quiet threat of decay, and the race is on to preserve it before it is lost.
- The UNESCO-backed PEACE Project, supported by KOICA, is moving to preserve and digitise the historical records so they can reach young people.
- Tuol Sleng's standing is already secured by its 2009 Memory of the World listing and the 2025 World Heritage inscription of Cambodia's Memorial Sites, but its timeline, document count and budget remain unannounced.
On a visit to Phnom Penh's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former S-21 prison where people were held and tortured under the Khmer Rouge, UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany paid tribute to those who suffered there. His message rested on the conviction that records of atrocity are kept not for those who lived them but for those who will come after, and that preserving them is one way a nation teaches its young and builds the conditions for peace. The museum's place in UNESCO's registers, from the 2009 Memory of the World listing of its archives to the 2025 World Heritage inscription of Cambodia's Memorial Sites, reflects how the wider world has agreed to hold this memory in common. What remains open is how fully the documents will be carried into digital form and into the hands of a generation that did not live through them.
UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany walked through the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, a building that once served as the Khmer Rouge's S-21 prison. People were detained and tortured there, and he came to honor those who suffered within its walls.
His remarks returned again and again to one idea: historical records matter because of who will read them next. Preserving them, he said, is how a country teaches its young people and works toward peace.
The museum already holds a special place in UNESCO's systems. As part of Cambodia's Memorial Sites, it joined the World Heritage List in 2025, and its archives had been placed on the Memory of the World Register in 2009, recognizing the documents as vital evidence of the atrocities.
The visit also pointed to ongoing work. Through the PEACE Project, supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), UNESCO is working with Cambodia to preserve the records and digitise them, so that the painful past can be learned from rather than inherited as something half-told.
The source gives no timeline, document count or budget for the effort. What to watch is how far the digitisation advances and how openly the records reach Cambodia's younger generations.
UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany walked through the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, a site that was once the Khmer Rouge's S-21 prison. It was a place where people were detained and tortured, and he came to pay tribute to those who suffered there.
His remarks centered on a single idea: that historical records matter because of who will read them next. El-Enany said preserving them is a way to teach younger generations and to build peace.
The museum holds a particular standing in UNESCO's systems. It is part of Cambodia's Memorial Sites, which were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2025. Its archives had earlier been placed on the Memory of the World Register in 2009, a listing that recognizes the documents themselves as vital records of the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge period.
El-Enany tied the visit to ongoing work. UNESCO is collaborating with Cambodia through what it calls the PEACE Project, which has support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency, known as KOICA. The project's task is to preserve the historical records and digitise them.
The stated purpose of that digitisation is access. The aim is to keep the documents available and to make sure younger generations can learn from the country's painful history, rather than inherit it as something half-told.
The UNESCO chief argued that remembrance and education are essential to fostering a culture of peace. His visit, as reported, underscored the need to protect the historical evidence of mass atrocities so that the experiences of victims are not forgotten.
The source does not give a timeline for the digitisation, a count of documents involved, or a budget for the PEACE Project. What can be watched next is how far the effort progresses, and how openly the digitised records are made available to Cambodia's younger generations.
Citations marquantes
Remembrance and education are essential to fostering a culture of peace (paraphrased).— Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO Director-General
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