IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 310 

Calling for more accountable foreign assistance for Cambodia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 19, 2013 

Mr. CHABOT (for himself, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. MESSER, Mr. HOLDING, 

and Mr. PERRY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for more accountable foreign assistance for 

Cambodia. 

Whereas, according to the United States Agency for International Development, from 1993 to 2011 the United 

States provided Cambodia with over $1,247,000,000 in 

economic and military assistance; 

Whereas Cambodia is ranked 138 (out of 187) in the United 

Nations Development Program’s Human Development 

Report 2013, a rank shared by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic; 

Whereas Cambodia is ranked 157 (out of 174) in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 

2012, a rank below Yemen and one shared with Angola 

and Tajikistan; 


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•HRES 310 IH 

Whereas Cambodia is ranked ‘‘Not Free’’ in Freedom 

House’s Freedom in the World 2013 report, which further states, ‘‘Cambodia is not an electoral democracy. 

Elections are conducted under often repressive conditions, and the opposition is hampered by serious legal 

and physical harassment.’’; 

Whereas the Department of State’s Country Reports on 

Human Rights Practices for 2011 notes that ‘‘a leading 

human rights problem’’ in Cambodia is ‘‘a weak judiciary 

. . . subject to corruption and political influence’’; 

Whereas Human Rights Watch noted in a May 31, 2012, 

New York Times op-ed that Prime Minister Hun Sen has 

remained in power in Cambodia for 10,000 days 

‘‘through politically motivated violence, control of the security forces, massive corruption, and the tacit support of 

foreign powers’’; 

Whereas, on May 6, 2013, Prime Minister Hun Sen vowed 

to stay in power for more than a decade stating, ‘‘I will 

wait until 74 to leave politics just like they do in China.’’; 

Whereas the July 16, 2012, Report of the United Nations 

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in 

Cambodia (A/HRC/21/63) notes that ‘‘there are major 

flaws in the administration of elections in Cambodia and 

urgent and long-term reforms are needed to give Cambodians confidence in the electoral process and in the 

workings of the National Election Committee’’; 

Whereas the July 16, 2012, report includes 18 specific recommendations for improving the election framework and 

environment in Cambodia to ensure greater transparency, 

accountability, and political association and expression, 


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•HRES 310 IH 

including the full participation of opposition leader Sam 

Rainsy in upcoming parliamentary elections; 

Whereas Sam Rainsy and other opposition members and activists continue to be the target of official harassment 

through politically motivated accusations and charges, denied due process of law, and excluded from participating 

in upcoming national elections in Cambodia; 

Whereas since April 2013, Prime Minister Hun Sen has 

warned during his reelection campaign that if voters defeat him and elect the opposition Cambodia National 

Rescue Party, there will be a civil war and war with 

neighboring Vietnam; 

Whereas, on June 6, 2013, the Cambodia’s Parliament ruling 

party stripped all 28 opposition party members of their 

status as lawmakers and their salaries, which severely 

contradicts a healthy democratic process in the period before the July 28 elections; 

Whereas, on June 7, 2013, Cambodia’s Parliament passed a 

law after all opposition party members were expelled for 

forming a new party, the Cambodian National Rescue 

Party, making it illegal to deny that atrocities were committed by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s; 

Whereas this law is an act of intimidation by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party which is likely aimed at denouncing and imprisoning opposition party members; 

Whereas, on June 9, 2013, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Government organized a rally against opposition Cambodia 

National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha by paying participants and using government vehicles to ferry people to 

and from the meeting sites; and 


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•HRES 310 IH 

Whereas Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian 

People’s Party are responsible for ensuring the safety of 

all citizens and foreign residents in Cambodia: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) in order to be considered credible and com3 petitive, the July 2013 parliamentary elections in 

4 Cambodia must implement the recommendations 

5 contained in the July 16, 2012, Report of the 

6 United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation 

7 of human rights in Cambodia (A/HRC/21/63), and 

8 must include the full and unfettered participation of 

9 all political parties leaders, specifically Sam Rainsy; 

10 (2) the United States Department of State and 

11 the United States Agency for International Develop12 ment should refrain from supporting national or 

13 local elections in Cambodia, or deploying election 

14 monitors to the July 2013 parliamentary elections, 

15 if such United Nations recommendations are ig16 nored, and if political parties and opposition leaders 

17 are excluded or otherwise hampered from fully and 

18 freely participating in electoral processes, including 

19 during the campaign period and on election day; 

20 (3) any election in Cambodia that the Secretary 

21 of State determines is not credible and competitive 

22 should be deemed as an illegitimate expression of the 


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•HRES 310 IH 

1 Cambodian peoples’ will, and an impediment to the 

2 democratic development of Cambodia; and 

3 (4) a Cambodian government formed as a result 

4 of such illegitimate elections should not be eligible 

5 for direct United States Government assistance, in6 cluding for the military and police, and the Depart7 ment of State and United States Agency for Inter8 national Development should jointly reassess and re9 duce assistance for Cambodia in subsequent fiscal 

10 years, and urge international financial institutions to 

11 do the same. 

Æ 


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