Today marks the 50th anniversary of the takeover by the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia from April 1975 to January 1979 that brought the country to one of its darkest periods in recent history – unleashing a reign of terror and horrified mass atrocities.

As Cambodians remember soberly this nightmare of human suffering, we should know that mass atrocities characterized by the horrifying crimes are still occurring all over the world. Accordingly, a renowned human rights expert, James Waller famously stated that “no country is immune to the potential for atrocity crimes and that this awareness can facilitate atrocity prevention.”

April 17, 1975, marked the beginning of the Khmer Rouge’s genocidal regime, as their ruthless forces marched into Phnom Penh and unleashed a reign of terror across Cambodia. We must never allow such a barbaric regime to rise again. This solemn moment offers an opportunity to reflect on how we can develop a national plan to prevent future atrocities and take the lead in advancing a regional strategy in Southeast Asia to combat mass crimes.

The Royal Government of Cambodia—particularly under the leadership of former Prime Minister Hun Sen—deserves recognition for dismantling the Khmer Rouge’s infrastructure and restoring lasting peace to the country. His leadership helped end the suffering and halt the killing spree that took the lives of over two million Cambodians under Pol Pot’s regime.

Since the fall of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia has made remarkable strides in healing and rebuilding from this dark period. Credit is due to both the Cambodian government and the United Nations for establishing the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in 2006—nearly 50 years after mass graves were discovered and evidence of the Killing Fields came to light.

The Khmer Rouge tribunal had been astounding in laying an important accountability for victims of atrocities. From full operation in 2007 until final rendering of the summary of its last substantive judgments over top Khmer Rouge cadres in late 2022, the court proceedings saw more than 200,000 Cambodians attended the trials.

This prompted the U.N. Special Expert David Scheffer, a renowned scholar on international law and international criminal justice, to note that the trials “exceed the total number of spectators for the Nuremberg and Tokyo military tribunals after World War II, the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and the International Criminal Court, combined.”

Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

Cambodia has made stridden efforts to prevent the return of such horrific pasts. The country was among UN member states to vote in favor the adoption of the norm of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) during the World Summit in 2005, and has been at the forefront in advocating the R2P norm such as signing and ratifying many international human rights treaties, including the Rome Statute, setting up genocide museums and becoming the first country in ASEAN and one among the 61 countries, including those in the Indo-Pacific region, to have appointed National R2P Focal Points.

For Cambodia to truly honor its legacy as the first country in Asia to courageously confront the darkest chapter of its history, it must take the next step: developing a national atrocity prevention plan to ensure that mass crimes never happen again. In designing such a plan, several key considerations should be considered.

The primary goal of atrocity prevention is to protect civilians—by addressing the conditions that can lead to mass violence, by deterring potential perpetrators, or by intervening directly to safeguard lives. This goal can be pursued through both early prevention efforts and timely responses.

Early prevention involves taking proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of atrocities before they occur or become imminent. The focus is on addressing root causes that could lead to genocide or other mass crimes. One effective approach is to conduct a national risk assessment to identify and mitigate these underlying risks.

Response efforts, on the other hand, are aimed at stopping atrocities once they are in progress and preventing them from escalating further. These measures typically fall into two categories: either persuading potential perpetrators—through coercive or non-coercive means—not to commit atrocities or directly limiting their ability to harm civilians.

Despite some negative perceptions about R2P, responding to atrocities does not necessarily mean military intervention. In fact, the vast majority of prevention and response options do not require the use of military force.

As described by the Fundamentals of Genocide and Mass Atrocities Prevention by Professor Scott Straus at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies political violence, genocide, human rights, and post-conflict politics, 15 of the 16 approaches to preventing mass atrocities do not involve a military response. Significant work is being done to build out the entire range of options short of military intervention to ensure a more complete toolbox that is able to better prioritize early prevention.

The best tool for atrocity preventions lies in the 2014 UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes. Accordingly, there are eight common risk factors that can cause to mass atrocities including situations of armed conflicts, serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, weakness of state structures, motives or incentives, capacity to commit atrocity crimes, absence of mitigating factors, enabling circumstances or preparatory action, and triggering factors.

This international framework of risk factors serves as a model tool for atrocity prevention, addressing broad dimensions such as politics, the economy, social cohesion, social justice, and the security sector.

During the international conference on “R2P (Responsibility to Protect) at 10: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities” which was held on 26-27 February 2015 in Phnom Penh to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of adoption of R2P norm at the UN World Summit, former Prime Minister Hun Sen mentioned that “I believe that Cambodia has an important role to play in promoting responsibility to protect and prevent mass atrocities in Southeast Asia, given our own unique experience and what we have accomplished so far in addressing past atrocities under the Khmer Rouge regime.”

At the Forefront in ASEAN

Internationally, Cambodia stands in the forefront in ASEAN in committing to global norms and principles to promote atrocity preventions.

Cambodia has ratified eight of the nine core international human rights treaties, demonstrating a strong commitment to global human rights standards. In April 2002, it became one of only three Southeast Asian nations to ratify the Rome Statute, thereby supporting the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). At the 2005 UN World Summit, Cambodia joined 190 other member states in unanimously adopting the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle—an international commitment to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. In 2016, Cambodia further reinforced its commitment by appointing a national R2P focal point—becoming the only country in Southeast Asia, and one of just six in the Asia-Pacific region, to do so.

Given its own experience with mass atrocities, Cambodia is uniquely positioned to serve as a moral leader in advancing atrocity prevention across ASEAN. It can play a key role in integrating atrocity prevention into the region’s agenda through mechanisms such as the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). Cambodia could also use platforms like the ASEAN Summit, the East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to emphasize the importance of regional cooperation in preventing mass atrocities.

Furthermore, Cambodia could discreetly encourage fellow ASEAN member states to ratify key international instruments, such as the Rome Statute, and to appoint national focal points for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle. These steps would help coordinate and strengthen regional efforts to prevent mass violence.

Most importantly, Cambodia could lead discussions on the possibility of establishing regional atrocity prevention mechanisms within ASEAN. Such mechanisms are critical, as mass atrocities often have cross-border impacts. This has been evident in historical and ongoing crises—such as the Khmer Rouge atrocities of the 1970s, the Rohingya crises of the 1990s and 2017, and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar—which have displaced large numbers of people and affected multiple ASEAN states.

Fifty years on, as Cambodia enters a new chapter led by a younger generation and dynamic leadership, the country has an opportunity to earn broader admiration. By acknowledging the horrors of its past and taking concrete steps to prevent future atrocities, Cambodia can develop a national atrocity prevention plan and use its unique experience to lead regional initiatives. In doing so, it can help build the preventive capacity ASEAN needs to eliminate mass atrocities across Southeast Asia once and for all.

Ambassador Pou Sothirak is the Distinguished Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies.
Him Raksmey is the Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies.