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; Whereas Cambodia is ranked Not Free 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 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, 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 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 That— (1) in order to be considered credible and competitive, the July 2013 parliamentary elections in Cambodia must implement the recommendations contained in the July 16, 2012, Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia (A/HRC/21/63), and must include the full and unfettered participation of all political parties leaders, specifically Sam Rainsy; (2) the United States Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development should refrain from supporting national or local elections in Cambodia, or deploying election monitors to the July 2013 parliamentary elections, if such United Nations recommendations are ignored, and if political parties and opposition leaders are excluded or otherwise hampered from fully and freely participating in electoral processes, including during the campaign period and on election day; (3) any election in Cambodia that the Secretary of State determines is not credible and competitive should be deemed as an illegitimate expression of the Cambodian peoples’ will, and an impediment to the democratic development of Cambodia; and (4) a Cambodian government formed as a result of such illegitimate elections should not be eligible for direct United States Government assistance, including for the military and police, and the Department of State and United States Agency for International Development should jointly reassess and reduce assistance for Cambodia in subsequent fiscal years, and urge international financial institutions to do the same.

Summary: States that in order to be credible the July 2013 parliamentary elections in Cambodia must implement the recommendations in the July 16, 2012, Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, and must include the participation of all political parties leaders, including Sam Rainsy. Urges the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) not to support national or local elections in Cambodia if such United Nations (U.N.) recommendations are ignored, and if political parties and opposition leaders are excluded or hampered from freely participating in electoral processes. States that: (1) any election in Cambodia that the Secretary of State determines is not credible should be deemed as an illegitimate expression of the Cambodian peoples' will; and (2) a resulting Cambodian government should not be eligible for direct U.S. government assistance, and the Department of State and USAID should reduce assistance for Cambodia and urge international financial institutions to do the same.