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The 1st Anniversary of the Inscription of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives in the Memory of the World International Register
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| 18-08-2010 6:40 am The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the UNESCO Office in Phnom Penh jointly organized the 1st anniversary ceremony of the inscription of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives in the Memory of the World International Register on 9 August, 2010. |
 The Memory of the World is the documented, collective memory of the people of the world. The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme recognizes documentary heritage of international, regional and national significance, maintains registers of it, and facilitates preservation and access. The programme works to raise awareness of the documentary heritage and to alert governments, the general public, and businesses to preservation needs.
During the three day meeting of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, which was held on July 31, 2009 in Bridgetown, Barbados, Director General of UNESCO announced the inscription of documentary heritage on the recommendation of experts of the IAC of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme. The historical photographs and documents from the site of the S-21 prison and interrogation center of the Pol Pot regime, currently held at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, were listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register on 31 July, 2009. The museum archive holds 4,186 prisoner “confessions”, 6,226 biographies of prisoners and 6,147 photographic prints.
The ceremony, held on the grounds of Tuol Sleng where around 16,000 prisoners were tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge, fostered reflections on collective memory and brought attention to the importance of preserving and protecting documentary heritage. Participants included S-21 prison survivors, members of the Cambodian government, ambassadors and development partners. Mr. Teruo Jinnai, representative of UNESCO Office in Phnom Penh emphasized the importance of protecting and preserving our documentary heritage: “The archives of the Tuol Sleng are the first items to be proclaimed as Memory of the World in Cambodia. They document one of the most extreme examples of crimes against humanity in the 20th century…The UNESCO Memory of the World Programme celebrates the Memory of the Humanity. All of us should understand the need to preserve this important historic place and documents, and take actions towards it.” The ceremony concluded with a traditional Khmer Ayai performance and an interpretive dance by the renowned Cambodian artist, Leang Seckon, who expressed the suffering and pain of the Khmer Rouge period.
The three surviving S-21 prisoners welcomed the inscription of the S-21 documents on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. Mr. Vann Nath, one of the survivors, said: “I no longer have to worry that the genocide museum will be lost and forgotten by history.”
For more information regarding the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, please contact Ms. Jamie Hyo-Jin Lee, UNESCO Communication and Information Focal Point at hj.lee@unesco.org
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UNESCO Phnom Penh
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