On April 4, 2012, the Cambodia Tribunal Monitor (CTM) Project of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) conducted a workshop at the Police Academy of Cambodia. The workshop focused on the history of Democratic Kampuchea, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and the resources provided by the CTM website. The workshop was conducted from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. with the participation of 130 police officer students, and their commander-in-chief.

To date, the CTM team has successfully conducted the workshop at more than 25 universities, reaching almost 6,000 students. Almost three decades after the collapse of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), a hybrid tribunal known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was established by the Royal Government of Cambodia and the United Nations to address the serious human rights violations and crimes committed under the DK regime. The ECCC continues to prosecute the senior leaders of the DK regime and is helping Cambodians to achieve a measure of reconciliation. Yet, judicial measures alone cannot bring justice to the victims. There is a need to update the public and especially students—who will be the future leaders of this country—on Khmer Rouge history and the legal process for prosecuting the senior leaders most responsible for the horrors committed under the regime.

Because police are the primary agents for maintaining public order and security, CTM hopes to use this training session as a platform for disseminating information on not only the history of the Khmer Rouge, the trials of Khmer Rouge leaders, and research tools available for accessing these important topics, but also encouraging a more rigorous look at the role of police in a peaceful, democratic society. It is through this awareness and greater access to resources that the CTM Project hopes to preserve memory and enhance the access to (and understanding of) justice.