Students in AUPP’s LEGL 101 class attended a half-day session of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia on March 4, 2015. They were accompanied by Professor Stephen Rosenbaum and KPFA Radio Journalist Aileen Alfandary. Alfandary afterwards filed a story on the court proceedings, including interviews with AUPP students.

AUPP students observed a prosecutor and civil party lawyers questioning a former guard about the torture and executions he witnessed at the notorious Kraing Ta Chan detention center in a phase of the trials devoted to charges of genocide. More than 165,000 Cambodians from all over the country have attended the trials to date.

Although the crimes happened almost half a century ago, court spokesperson Lars Olsen says there is an important principle at work in putting the world’s current leaders on notice that impunity will not be tolerated in the face of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide

Field trips and other co-curricular activities provide opportunities for AUPP students to see the real-world application of the theories and ideas they are studying in the classroom. Dr. Rosenbaum provided the students with a list of prompts to guide their observation of the tribunal proceedings and written reflections.