IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 661 
Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promote democracy, 
human rights, and the rule of law in Cambodia. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 12, 2017 
Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. CHABOT, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. SHERMAN, 
Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ROYCE of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. YOHO, and Mr. 
ROHRABACHER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promote 
democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Cambodia. 
Whereas Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power in Cam-
bodia since 1985 and is the longest-serving leader of a 
Southeast Asian country; 
Whereas the Paris Peace Accords in 1991 provided a vital 
framework, supported by the international community, to 
help Cambodia undertake a transition to democracy, in-
cluding through elections and multiparty government; 
Whereas the United States, for more than 25 years, has pro-
vided hundreds of millions of dollars in development aid 
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and other types of foreign assistance to the people of 
Cambodia, funding work in areas such as capacity build-
ing for civil society and nongovernmental organizations, 
global health, and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal; 
Whereas despite decades of international attention and assist-
ance to promote a pluralistic, multi-party, democratic 
system in Cambodia, the Government of Cambodia con-
tinues to be undemocratically dominated by the ruling 
Cambodia People’s Party (CPP); 
Whereas the leadership of Cambodia’s security forces, includ-
ing all of its top military and police commanders, is part 
of the core CPP leadership, with seats on the Central 
Committee of the Politburo of the CPP; 
Whereas the CPP controls Cambodia’s National Assembly 
and can pass legislation without any opposition, and has 
often passed laws to benefit its continued rule and to 
weaken the capacity of the opposition to challenge it; 
Whereas each of the five elections that have taken place in 
Cambodia since 1991 was conducted in circumstances 
that were neither free nor fair, and was marked by fraud, 
intimidation, violence, and the misuse of legal mecha-
nisms by the CPP to weaken opposition candidates and 
parties; 
Whereas in 2015, the CPP-controlled National Assembly 
passed the ‘‘Law on Associations and Non-Governmental 
Organizations’’ (LANGO), giving the Government sweep-
ing powers to revoke the registration of NGOs believed 
to be operating with a political bias, in a blatant attempt 
to restrict the legitimate work of civil society; 
Whereas since the passage of that law, the Interior Ministry 
of Cambodia has announced that it was surveilling sev-
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eral civil society organizations and their employees for al-
legedly aiding Cambodia’s main opposition party, the 
Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP); 
Whereas the National Democratic Institute, the International 
Republican Institute, and other similar nongovernmental 
organizations that advance democracy and human rights 
have a long history in Cambodia and respect its unique 
cultural, historical, and religious differences when pro-
moting policies, engaging local partners, and building ca-
pacity for civil society, democracy, and good governance; 
Whereas, on April 28, 2016, the Government of Cambodia 
arrested four senior staff members of the Cambodian 
Human Rights and Development Association, as well as 
a former staff member and official on the National Elec-
tion Committee, and held them in pre-trial detention for 
427 days until they were released on bail in the wake of 
sustained international pressure; 
Whereas the Government of Cambodia arrested activist and 
women’s rights defender Tep Vanny in August 2016 and 
has kept her in prison for over a year; 
Whereas the prominent Cambodian political commentator 
Kem Ley was assassinated on July 10, 2016, five days 
after a senior Cambodian general publicly called on the 
Cambodian Armed Forces to ‘‘eliminate and dispose of’’ 
anyone ‘‘fomenting social turmoil’’ in Cambodia; 
Whereas Kem Ley had been a frequent critic of Prime Min-
ister Hun Sen, fueling concerns that his killing was po-
litically motivated and ordered by higher authorities; 
Whereas, on August 23, 2017, Cambodia’s Ministry of For-
eign Affairs ordered the closure of the National Demo-
cratic Institute and the expulsion of its foreign staff on 
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allegations that it had violated the LANGO and was con-
spiring against Prime Minister Hun Sen; 
Whereas Kem Sokha, the President of CNRP, was arrested 
on September 3, 2017, on false charges of treason and 
conspiring with the United States Government to over-
throw the Government of Cambodia, and would face up 
to 30 years in prison if convicted; 
Whereas the United States Embassy in Cambodia has pub-
licly called for the immediate release of Kem Sokha and 
the removal of restrictions on civil society; 
Whereas, on September 15, 2017, Prime Minister Hun Sen 
called for the withdrawal of all volunteers from the 
United States Peace Corps, which has operated in Cam-
bodia since 2006 with 500 United States volunteers pro-
viding English language and healthcare training; 
Whereas the CNRP’s previous leader, Sam Rainsy, remains 
in exile due to an outstanding warrant for his arrest in 
a politically motivated criminal case; 
Whereas the Government of Cambodia has taken several 
measures to restrict the media, especially through politi-
cized tax investigations against independent media outlets 
that have resulted in the closure of The Cambodian Daily 
and Radio Free Asia in early September 2017; 
Whereas the Government of Cambodia has ordered several 
radio stations to stop the broadcasting of Radio Free 
Asia and Voice of America; 
Whereas, on October 16, 2017, the Cambodian National As-
sembly passed two repressive amendments to Cambodia’s 
‘‘Law on Political Parties’’ that allow authorities to dis-
solve political parties and ban party leaders from political 
activity, and which contain numerous restrictions tailored 
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to create obstacles for opposition parties in an attempt 
to maintain the CPP’s hold on power; 
Whereas, on November 15, 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court 
dissolved the CNRP, resulting in the expulsion of more 
than 100 CNRP party members from politics for 5 years, 
including the 55 elected CNRP members in the 123-seat 
National Assembly; 
Whereas the next general election in Cambodia is scheduled 
for July 29, 2018, and the CPP continues to use intimi-
dation and misuse legal mechanisms to weaken political 
opposition and media organizations in order to retain its 
power; 
Whereas Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened more than 
5,000 commune councilors and chiefs aligned with the 
CNRP with the loss of their jobs unless they defected 
and joined the CPP; 
Whereas Human Rights Watch reported that local elections 
held in Cambodia on June 4, 2017, took place in a 
‘‘threatening environment hostile to free speech and gen-
uine political participation, leading to elections that were 
neither free nor fair’’; 
Whereas international election-monitoring groups reported 
fundamental flaws in the electoral process and violations 
of Cambodia’s election campaign rules during June’s 
local election; 
Whereas the Interior Ministry of Cambodia demanded that 
two election-monitoring organizations cease their activi-
ties just months after the local elections, for allegedly vio-
lating the LANGO, allowing the CPP to continue to in-
crease restrictions on election monitoring as the 2018 na-
tional elections approach; 
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Whereas, on November 16, 2017, President Trump deter-
mined that next year’s national elections in Cambodia 
will not be free and fair and announced his intention to 
terminate support for the Cambodian National Election 
Committee and its administration of the election; 
Whereas despite irregularities in the electoral process, the 
CNRP made significant gains in local elections compared 
to previous cycles, making clear that the national elec-
tions in 2018, if they are conducted freely and fairly, 
would be competitive; and 
Whereas the Cambodian national elections in 2018 should be 
closely watched to ensure openness and fairness and to 
monitor whether all political parties and civil society 
groups are allowed to freely participate: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United 
States to promote democracy, human rights, and the 
rule of law in Cambodia; 
(2) condemns all forms of political violence in 
Cambodia and urges the cessation of ongoing human 
rights violations; 
(3) supports the decision announced by the Sec-
retary of State on December 6, 2017, to restrict 
entry to the United States for individuals involved in 
undermining democracy in Cambodia; 
(4) urges the President, acting through the Sec-
retary of the Treasury and in consultation with the 
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Secretary of State, to consider placing all senior 
Cambodian government officials implicated in the 
abuses described in the preamble to this resolution 
on the List of Specially Designated Nationals main-
tained by the Office of Foreign Asset Control of the 
Department of the Treasury under existing sanc-
tions authorities; 
(5) urges Prime Minister Hun Sen and the 
Cambodian People’s Party to end all harassment 
and intimidation of Cambodia’s opposition and fos-
ter a political environment where democracy can 
thrive and flourish; 
(6) urges the Government of Cambodia to free 
Kem Sokha immediately and unconditionally; 
(7) urges the Government of Cambodia to rec-
ognize the legitimacy of the Cambodia National Res-
cue Party and the CNRP members, including by re-
instating the 55 CNRP officials elected to the Na-
tional Assembly; 
(8) calls on the Government of Cambodia to re-
spect the freedom of the press and the rights of its 
citizens to freely assemble, protest, and speak out 
against the government; and 
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(9) supports efforts toward electoral reforms in 
Cambodia to ensure free and fair elections in 2018 
monitored by international observers. 
Æ 
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