IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5754 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

To promote free and fair elections, political freedoms, and 

human rights in Cambodia, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cambodia Democracy 

3 Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power 

7 in Cambodia since 1985 and is the longest-serving 

8 leader in Southeast Asia. Despite decades of inter9 national attention and assistance to promote a plu10 ralistic, multi-party democratic system in Cambodia, 

11 the Government of Cambodia continues to be 

12 undemocratically dominated by the ruling Cambodia 

13 People’s Party (CPP), which controls every agency 

14 and security apparatus of the state. 

15 (2) In 2015, the CPP-controlled parliament 

16 passed the ‘‘Law on Associations and Non-Govern17 mental Organizations’’, which gave the government 

18 sweeping powers to revoke the registration of NGOs 

19 that the government believed to be operating with a 

20 political bias in a blatant attempt to restrict the le21 gitimate work of civil society. On August 23, 2017, 

22 Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered the 

23 closure of the National Democratic Institute and the 

24 expulsion of its foreign staff. On September 15, 

25 2017, Prime Minister Hun Sen called for the with26 drawal of all volunteers from the United States 


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1 Peace Corps, which has operated in Cambodia since 

2 2006 with 500 United States volunteers providing 

3 English language and healthcare training. 

4 (3) The Government of Cambodia has taken 

5 several measures to restrict its media environment, 

6 especially through politicized tax investigations 

7 against independent media outlets that resulted in 

8 the closure of The Cambodian Daily and Radio Free 

9 Asia in early September 2017. Additionally, the Gov10 ernment of Cambodia has ordered several radio sta11 tions to stop the broadcasting of Radio Free Asia 

12 and Voice of America programming. 

13 (4) Each of the five elections that have taken 

14 place in Cambodia since 1991 were conducted in cir15 cumstances that were not free and fair, and were 

16 marked by fraud, intimidation, violence, and the gov17 ernment’s misuse of legal mechanisms to weaken op18 position candidates and parties. 

19 (5) On September 3, 2017, Kem Sokha, the 

20 President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party 

21 (CNRP), was arrested on politically motivated 

22 charges, including treason and conspiring to over23 throw the Government of Cambodia, and faces up to 

24 30 years in prison. The CNRP’s previous leader, 

25 Sam Rainsy, remains in exile. On November 16, 


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1 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the 

2 CNRP, eliminating the CPP’s only viable challenger. 

3 (6) The United States is committed to pro4 moting democracy, human rights, and the rule of 

5 law in Cambodia. The United States continues to 

6 urge the Government of Cambodia to immediately 

7 release Mr. Kem Sokha, reinstate the political status 

8 of the CNRP and its 55 elected seats in the Na9 tional Assembly, and support electoral reform efforts 

10 in Cambodia with free and fair elections in 2018 

11 monitored by international observers. 

12 SEC. 3. SANCTIONS RELATING TO UNDERMINING DEMOC13 RACY IN CAMBODIA. 

14 (a) DESIGNATION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR

15 UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA.—Not later 

16 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

17 the President shall apply the sanctions described in sub18 section (b) on— 

19 (1) each senior official of the Government, mili20 tary, or security forces of Cambodia that the Presi21 dent determines has directly and substantially un22 dermined democracy in Cambodia; 

23 (2) each senior official of the Government, mili24 tary, or security forces of Cambodia that the Presi25 dent determines has committed or directed serious 


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1 human rights violations associated with undermining 

2 democracy in Cambodia; and 

3 (3) entities owned or controlled by senior offi4 cials of the Government, military, or security forces 

5 of Cambodia described in (1) and (2). 

6 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

7 (1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall ex8 ercise all of the powers granted to the President 

9 under the International Emergency Economic Pow10 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent nec11 essary to block and prohibit all transactions in prop12 erty and interests in property of a person designated 

13 under subsection (a) if such property and interests 

14 in property are in the United States, come within 

15 the United States, or are or come within the posses16 sion or control of a United States person. 

17 (2) VISA RESTRICTIONS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, 

19 in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 

20 Security, shall continue to implement the policy 

21 announced by the Department of State on De22 cember 6, 2017, to restrict entry into the 

23 United States of persons involved in under24 mining democracy in Cambodia, including any 

25 person designated under subsection (a). 


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1 (B) EXCEPTION FOR MULTILATERAL AC2 TIVITIES.—Persons otherwise restricted from 

3 entry into the United States under this section 

4 may be admitted if such admission is necessary 

5 to comply with United States obligations under 

6 the Agreement between the United Nations and 

7 the United States of America regarding the 

8 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at 

9 Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into 

10 force November 21, 1947, or under the Conven11 tion on Consular Relations, done at Vienna 

12 April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 

13 19, 1967, or other applicable international obli14 gations of the United States. 

15 (3) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 

16 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter17 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

18 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that violates, 

19 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

20 violation of paragraph (1) to the same extent that 

21 such penalties apply to a person that commits an 

22 unlawful act described in subsection (a) of such sec23 tion 206. 

24 (e) LIST OF DESIGNATED PERSONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

3 President shall transmit to the appropriate congres4 sional committees a list of persons designated under 

5 subsection (a). 

6 (2) UPDATES.—The President shall transmit to 

7 the appropriate congressional committees updated 

8 lists under paragraph (1) as new information be9 comes available. 

10 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exercise 

11 all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 

12 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

13 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section. 

14 (g) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica15 tion of sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect 

16 to a person designated under subsection (a) if the Presi17 dent determines and certifies to the appropriate congres18 sional committees that such waiver is in the national inter19 est of the United States. 

20 SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS. 

21 (a) SUSPENSION.—The sanctions described in section 

22 3 may be suspended for up to one year upon certification 

23 by the President to the appropriate congressional commit24 tees that Cambodia is making meaningful progress toward 

25 the following: 


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1 (1) Ending government efforts to undermine 

2 democracy. 

3 (2) Ending human rights violations associated 

4 with undermining democracy. 

5 (3) Conducting free and fair elections which 

6 allow for the active participation of credible opposi7 tion candidates. 

8 (b) RENEWAL OF SUSPENSION.—The suspension de9 scribed in subsection (a) may be renewed for additional, 

10 consecutive 180-day periods if the President certifies to 

11 the appropriate congressional committees that Cambodia 

12 is continuing to make meaningful progress towards satis13 fying the conditions described in such subsection during 

14 the previous year. 

15 SEC. 5. SUNSET. 

16 This Act shall terminate on the date that is five years 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com22 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

23 and the Committee on Financial Services of the 

24 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 


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1 Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, 

2 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

3 (2) PERSON.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘person’’ 

5 means— 

6 (i) a natural person; or 

7 (ii) a corporation, business associa8 tion, partnership, society, trust, financial 

9 institution, insurer, underwriter, guar10 antor, and any other business organization, 

11 any other nongovernmental entity, organi12 zation, or group, and any governmental en13 tity operating as a business enterprise or 

14 any successor to any entity described in 

15 this clause. 

16 (B) APPLICATION TO GOVERNMENTAL EN17 TITIES.—The term ‘‘person’’ does not include a 

18 government or governmental entity that is not 

19 operating as a business enterprise. 

20 (3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

21 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

22 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law23 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

24 United States; or 


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1 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

2 the United States or of any jurisdiction of the 

3 United States, including a foreign branch of 

4 such an entity. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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