III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 271 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that United States military assistance 

for Cambodia should be suspended until an independent and credible 

investigation occurs into the July 28, 2013, parliamentary elections, 

and election reforms are being implemented by the Government of Cambodia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 16, 2013 

Mr. GRAHAM submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that United States military assistance for Cambodia should be suspended until 

an independent and credible investigation occurs into 

the July 28, 2013, parliamentary elections, and election 

reforms are being implemented by the Government of 

Cambodia. 

Whereas independent domestic and international organizations have raised serious concerns regarding the integrity 

of the parliamentary elections held in Cambodia on July 

28, 2013; 

Whereas, according to Human Rights Watch, ‘‘the Cambodian government-controlled National Election Committee (NEC) has failed to address credible allegations of 


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•SRES 271 IS 

voter fraud and other irregularities or systematic unfairness in the election process’’; 

Whereas opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party 

(CNRP) leader Sam Rainsy noted in an October 7, 2013, 

Cambodia Daily op-ed article that the inaugural meeting 

of the newly formed government was boycotted by 55 

CNRP-elected parliamentarians as a result of the refusal 

of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party to address 

‘‘shocking election irregularities’’ that allegedly denied 

CNRP additional parliamentary seats; 

Whereas United Nations’ Special Rapporteur for Human 

Rights in Cambodia Surya P. Subedi noted that ‘‘it is 

critical for the new National Assembly to be represented 

by the two key parties, for the National Assembly to be 

truly representative of the whole of the Cambodian people 

and for it to be concluded that the right to vote was effectively exercised on 28 July’’; 

Whereas in a September 23, 2013, statement, the United 

States Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, called for ‘‘a 

transparent review of irregularities in the July 28 national elections which would help efforts to assess and address flaws in the electoral process and give the Cambodian people greater confidence in the electoral system’’; 

Whereas the CNRP boycott calls into question the legitimacy 

of the Cambodian National Assembly and government; 

and 

Whereas the policy of the Administration of a strategic rebalance toward the Asia Pacific Region should include support for democracy, human rights, and justice in Cambodia: Now, therefore, be it 


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•SRES 271 IS 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 

2 United States should suspend military assistance for Cam3 bodia until— 

4 (1) an independent and credible investigation 

5 occurs into the July 28, 2013, parliamentary elec6 tions in Cambodia, and any recommendations aris7 ing out of such investigation are fully implemented; 

8 and 

9 (2) the Government of Cambodia, in consulta10 tion with civil society and political parties in Cam11 bodia, is implementing election reforms to prevent 

12 incidents of fraud and abuse in subsequent national 

13 and local elections in Cambodia. 

Æ 


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