Title: Cambodia Democracy Act of 2019
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Cambodia Democracy Act of 2019
This bill directs the President to impose sanctions on individuals responsible for acts to undermine democracy in Cambodia, including acts that constituted serious human rights violations.
The sanctions shall be directed at senior Cambodian government, military, or security forces officials responsible for such actions, as well as entities controlled or owned by such individuals.
The sanctions shall include blocking assets and restricting the entry of sanctioned individuals into the United States.
The President may waive the sanctions with respect to a person or entity if it is in the national interest of the United States. The President may suspend the sanctions if Cambodia makes meaningful progress toward ending government efforts to undermine democracy or committing human rights violations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 526 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 526

   To promote free and fair elections, political freedoms, and human 
              rights in Cambodia, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 11, 2019

   Mr. Yoho (for himself, Mr. McCaul, and Mr. Engel) introduced the 
following bill; 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 jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To promote free and fair elections, political freedoms, and human 
              rights in Cambodia, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Cambodia Democracy Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power in Cambodia 
        since 1985 and is the longest-serving leader in Southeast Asia. 
        Despite decades of international attention and assistance to 
        promote a pluralistic, multi-party democratic system in 
        Cambodia, the Government of Cambodia continues to be 
        undemocratically dominated by the ruling Cambodia People's 
        Party (CPP), which controls every agency and security apparatus 
        of the state.
            (2) In 2015, the CPP-controlled parliament passed the ``Law 
        on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations'', which 
        gave the government sweeping powers to revoke the registration 
        of NGOs that the government believed to be operating with a 
        political bias in a blatant attempt to restrict the legitimate 
        work of civil society. On August 23, 2017, Cambodia's Ministry 
        of Foreign Affairs ordered the closure of the National 
        Democratic Institute and the expulsion of its foreign staff. 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 Cambodia since 2006 with 500 
        United States volunteers providing English language and 
        healthcare training.
            (3) The Government of Cambodia has taken several measures 
        to restrict its media environment, especially through 
        politicized tax investigations against independent media 
        outlets that resulted in the closure of The Cambodian Daily and 
        Radio Free Asia in early September 2017. Additionally, the 
        Government of Cambodia has ordered several radio stations to 
        stop the broadcasting of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America 
        programming.
            (4) On September 3, 2017, Kem Sokha, the President of the 
        Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested on 
        politically motivated charges, including treason and conspiring 
        to overthrow the Government of Cambodia, and faces up to 30 
        years in prison. The CNRP's previous leader, Sam Rainsy, 
        remains in exile. On November 16, 2017, Cambodia's Supreme 
        Court dissolved the CNRP, eliminating the primary opposition 
        party.
            (5) Each of the six elections that have taken place in 
        Cambodia since 1991 were conducted in circumstances that were 
        not free and fair, and were marked by fraud, intimidation, 
        violence, and the government's misuse of legal mechanisms to 
        weaken opposition candidates and parties.
            (6) In the most recent general election in July 2018, 
        following the dissolution of the CNRP, the CPP secured every 
        parliamentary seat, an electoral victory that a statement from 
        the White House Press Secretary stated was ``neither free nor 
        fair and failed to represent the will of the Cambodian 
        people''.
            (7) The United States is committed to promoting democracy, 
        human rights, and the rule of law in Cambodia. The United 
        States continues to urge the Government of Cambodia to 
        immediately release Mr. Kem Sokha, reinstate the political 
        status of the CNRP and restore its elected seats in the 
        National Assembly, and support electoral reform efforts in 
        Cambodia with free and fair elections monitored by 
        international observers.

SEC. 3. SANCTIONS RELATING TO UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA.

    (a) Designation of Persons Responsible for Undermining Democracy in 
Cambodia.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the President shall apply the sanctions described in 
subsection (b) on--
            (1) each senior official of the government, military, or 
        security forces of Cambodia that the President determines has 
        directly and substantially undermined democracy in Cambodia;
            (2) each senior official of the government, military, or 
        security forces of Cambodia that the President determines has 
        committed or directed serious human rights violations 
        associated with undermining democracy in Cambodia; and
            (3) entities owned or controlled by senior officials of the 
        government, military, or security forces of Cambodia described 
        in paragraphs (1) and (2).
    (b) Sanctions Described.--
            (1) Asset blocking.--The President shall exercise all of 
        the powers granted to the President under the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the 
        extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in 
        property and interests in property of a person designated under 
        subsection (a) if such property and interests in property are 
        in the United States, come within the United States, or are or 
        come within the possession or control of a United States 
        person.
            (2) Visa restrictions.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of State, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
                shall continue to implement the policy announced by the 
                Department of State on December 6, 2017, to restrict 
                entry into the United States of persons involved in 
                undermining democracy in Cambodia, including any person 
                designated under subsection (a).
                    (B) Exception for multilateral activities.--Persons 
                otherwise restricted from entry into the United States 
                under this section may be admitted if such admission is 
                necessary to comply with United States obligations 
                under the Agreement between the United Nations and the 
                United States of America regarding the Headquarters of 
                the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 
                1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, or 
                under the Convention on Consular Relations, done at 
                Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 
                1967, or other applicable international obligations of 
                the United States.
            (3) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections 
        (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency 
        Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person 
        that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or 
        causes a violation of paragraph (1) to the same extent that 
        such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act 
        described in subsection (a) of such section 206.
    (c) List of Designated Persons.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a list of persons 
        designated under subsection (a).
            (2) Updates.--The President shall transmit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees updated lists under 
        paragraph (1) as new information becomes available.
    (d) Implementation.--The President may exercise all authorities 
provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this 
section.
    (e) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions 
described in subsection (b) with respect to a person designated under 
subsection (a) if the President determines and certifies to the 
appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is in the 
national interest of the United States.

SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) Suspension.--The sanctions described in section 3 may be 
suspended for up to 1-year upon certification by the President to the 
appropriate congressional committees that Cambodia is making meaningful 
progress toward the following:
            (1) Ending government efforts to undermine democracy.
            (2) Ending human rights violations associated with 
        undermining democracy.
            (3) Conducting free and fair elections which allow for the 
        active participation of credible opposition candidates.
    (b) Renewal of Suspension.--The suspension described in subsection 
(a) may be renewed for additional, consecutive-day periods if the 
President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that 
Cambodia is continuing to make meaningful progress towards satisfying 
the conditions described in such subsection during the previous year.

SEC. 5. SUNSET.

    This Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial Services of the 
        House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
        Affairs of the Senate.
            (2) Person.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``person'' means--
                            (i) a natural person; or
                            (ii) a corporation, business association, 
                        partnership, society, trust, financial 
                        institution, insurer, underwriter, guarantor, 
                        and any other business organization, any other 
                        nongovernmental entity, organization, or group, 
                        and any governmental entity operating as a 
                        business enterprise or any successor to any 
                        entity described in this clause.
                    (B) Application to governmental entities.--The term 
                ``person'' does not include a government or 
                governmental entity that is not operating as a business 
                enterprise.
            (3) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
                admitted for permanent residence to the United States; 
                or
                    (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or of any jurisdiction of the United 
                States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
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