Cambodia: Visiting the genocide museum, the head of the United Nations warns of the dangers of hatred and repression |

Mr. Guterres was speaking at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which commemorates the infamous S-21 interrogation and detention center during the bloody regime, which lasted from 1975 to 1979.

‘An essential reminder’

An estimated 18,000 people from all over Cambodia have been brought to the facility, located in a former secondary school in the center of the capital.

Only a few survived.

“Tuol Sleng is a much-needed reminder. Its bloody bricks and tiles are a word of warning to all of us: This is what happens when hatred rages. This is what happens when people are persecuted, and human rights are denied,” speak Mr. Guterres.

Forced Labor and Execution

The General Secretary was present at the Museum to pay tribute to all the victims and survivors of Khmer Rouge atrocities across Cambodia.

The regime follows a radical ideology rooted in different communist beliefs and politics. Religions, traditions, and family ties with deep roots are forbidden.

People were forced to leave big cities to work in agricultural communes in the countryside.

Institutions such as schools, temples, industries and factories were destroyed, and intellectuals, professionals, and monks were killed.

Altogether, nearly two million people, nearly a quarter of the population, are believed to have died during these years of forced labor, starvation, torture, and executions.

Take pictures, interrogate and kill

Those brought to Tuol Sleng were photographed and many tortured, for example, to falsely claim that they were agents of the United States government.

The prisoners were detained, interrogated and killed, or taken to another location on the outskirts of the capital, Choeung Ek, one of many “killing fields” where mass executions were carried out.

Most of the rooms at Tuol Sleng have been kept as they were when the Khmer Rouge were overthrown by the invading Vietnamese army.

“The suffering that takes place within these walls is terrible and shocking. Stories of survival and resilience are touching and inspiring,” commented the Secretary-General.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres looks at documents held by the Archives of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where the Khmer Rouge’s notorious S-21 Security Prison is located.

Promise never to forget

Mr. Guterres thanked the Museum for its extraordinary work to raise awareness of atrocities during the Khmer Rouge era, as part of its efforts to ensure they never happen again.

He reiterated that the Special Chambers at the Cambodian Court held the regime leaders accountable for these crimes and gave a voice to the victims and survivors.

“Their voices are more important than ever, at a time when hate speech, abuse, discrimination and harassment are on the rise anywhere in the world, he said.

Promoting inclusion and dignity

The UN chief stressed that preserving the memory of those who suffered and died at Tuol Sleng will help prevent atrocities from happening again.

“I promised to tell the story I heard from one of the survivors to my nieces and I would ask them to pass it on to their grandchildren. What is needed is that the memory of what happened here is never lost” he say.

“By learning to recognize the first warning signs of genocide and other atrocities, and respect the values ​​of inclusion and dignity, we can lay the foundations for a a future where such horrors can never happen again.”

The Secretary-General was in Cambodia to speak at the latest meeting between the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), held last Friday in the capital.

He will travel to Bali for the G20 summit, which begins on Tuesday.

The UN chief arrived in the region from Egypt, the host country of the UN’s COP27 climate change conference, which ended on Friday.