The Cambodian Genocide

Background
The Cambodian Genocide was carried
out over a 3 year period from 1975 until
1978 by The Communist Party of
Kampuchea (CPK), otherwise know as
the Khmer Rouge, a guerrilla movement
founded in 1960. The leader, Pol Pot, was
an admirer of Maos China, and wanted to
create an agricultural-based society, with
the majority of the population working in
forced labour in a huge federation of
collective farms. His aim was to
deconstruct the country and take it back
to year zero and to remove any western
innovations.
HUMAN RIGHTS

The
Cambodian
Genocide
Denition
The denition of human rights, as
dened by the United Nations, is that
fundamentally all human beings are
inherently equal, and no variables such
as race, religion, sex, language or any
other status changes this.
Pot believed that anyone opposed to this
system should be eliminated; his list of
potential opposition included
intellectuals, educated people,
professionals, monks, religious
enthusiasts, Buddhists, Muslims,
Christians, ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese,
Thai, and Cambodians with Chinese,
Vietnamese or Thai ancestry. By the end
of the end of his rule, it is estimated that
1.5-2 million people died, 25% of the total
population at the time.
Human Rights Violations
In total, 22 human right violations were
committed., including Article 4. No one
shall be held in slavery or servitude;
slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms, Article 5, No
one shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, and Article 7. All are equal
before the law and are entitled without
any discrimination to equal protection of
the law. All are entitled to equal protection
against any discrimination in violation of
this Declaration and against any
incitement to such discrimination.
Prevention of a re-occurrence
Living in a world surrounded and controlled
by technology, the spread of information via
social media is faster that ever before.
Because of these platforms, such as
Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Twitter,
it is easier than ever to connect with others
miles away in just a few seconds. As a
result of this, it is much harder to hide
knowledge or intelligence, and as a result
the world has become a much more open
recourse. However, while the spread of
information has become much easier and
more accessible, so has the spread of
hatred. It is because of this that nowadays
anyone with an internet connection can
post or access demeaning material of
another group of people.
How it was dealt with?
The Cambodian Genocide ended with the
eventual intervention from Vietnam, when
the capitol city of Phnom Penh was
invaded. The Vietnamese then installed new
government made up of Khmer Rouge
defectors. However, during the four years of
brutality and genocide, no foreign aid was
sent and there were no attempts by the
United Nations to stop the actions of the
Khmer Rouge. After the invasion Pol Pot
ed to Thailand with the remnants of the
Khmer Rouge and then began a guerrilla
war, lasting 17 years, over the succession
of Cambodian governments. But after a
series of power struggles during the 1990s
he nally lost control of the Khmer Rouge.
He died of a heart attack in 1998 following
his arrest, before he was brought to trial.
In 2007, Cambodian and international co-
prosecutors at the joint UN-Cambodian
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of
Cambodia (ECCC) has worked to bring the
specic leaders of the genocide to justice.
Life in Cambodia Today
Democratic Kampuchea was one of the
worst human tragedies of the 20th
century.- Cambodia Tribunal Monitor. With
an estimated 2 million dead because of
diseases due to a lack of medicine and
medical services, starvation, execution, or
exhaustion from overwork. Those who
survived the brutal rule of the CPK, were left
with the harrowing memories of their ordeal,
and many suffer from mental disorders.
Land-mines laid down during the period
have also left thousands dead and even
more injured since the1980s. 1999 was the
full year of peace that the country had
known in 30 years. Cambodia is one of the
most impoverished in the world; one in
eight children die before their 5th birthday.
34% of Cambodians survive on less than
1$ a day. The Khmer Rouges regime
stunted growth in the country; all those who
could amplify the economy were executed.