[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3052 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3052

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 21, 2021

Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Tillis, Ms. Warren, 
and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
           and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To promote free and fair elections, democracy, 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 and Human Rights 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On October 23, 1991, Cambodia and 18 other countries 
        signed the Comprehensive Cambodian Peace Agreement (commonly 
        referred to as the ``Paris Peace Agreements''), which committed 
        Cambodia to a democratic system of governance protected by a 
        constitution and free and fair elections and stated that the 
        people of Cambodia ``shall enjoy the rights and freedoms 
        embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other 
        relevant international human rights instruments''.
            (2) Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power in Cambodia 
        since 1984 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 Cambodian People's 
        Party.
            (3) In 2015, the Cambodian People's Party-controlled 
        National Assembly adopted the Law on Associations and Non-
        Governmental Organizations, which gave the Government of 
        Cambodia sweeping powers to revoke the registration of 
        nongovernmental organizations in the name of ``national 
        unity'', and which the government has used to restrict the 
        legitimate work of civil society.
            (4) On August 23, 2017, Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign 
        Affairs ordered the closure of the National Democratic 
        Institute office in Cambodia 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 
        approximately 500 United States volunteers providing English 
        language and healthcare training.
            (5) 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 Cambodia 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.
            (6) Cambodia's small number of independent trade unions and 
        workers have the right to strike, but many face retribution for 
        doing so, according to Freedom House.
            (7) Each of the 6 elections that have taken place in 
        Cambodia since 1991 was conducted in circumstances that were 
        not free and fair, and were marked, to varying degrees, by 
        fraud, intimidation, violence, and the misuse by the Government 
        of Cambodia of legal mechanisms to weaken opposition candidates 
        and parties. The 2017 local elections were marked by fewer 
        reported irregularities, however, which helped the opposition 
        Cambodia National Rescue Party (in this section referred to as 
        the ``CNRP''). Hun Sen responded to those improvements in 
        elections, resulting in part from international assistance and 
        observers, by banning the CNRP, the primary opposition party, 
        on November 16, 2017.
            (8) On September 3, 2017, Kem Sokha, the President of the 
        CNRP, was arrested on politically motivated charges, including 
        treason and conspiring to overthrow the Government of Cambodia. 
        While he was released on bail, he faces up to 30 years in 
        prison. His trial has been delayed due to the coronavirus 
        disease 2019 (commonly known as ``COVID-19'') pandemic and will 
        likely not resume in 2021.
            (9) In the most recent general election in July 2018, 
        following the dissolution of the CNRP, the Cambodian People's 
        Party secured every parliamentary seat, an electoral victory 
        that the White House Press Secretary stated was ``neither free 
        nor fair and failed to represent the will of the Cambodian 
        people''.
            (10) The widespread crackdown by the Government of Cambodia 
        on the political opposition and other independent voices has 
        caused many CNRP leaders to flee abroad. According to Human 
        Rights Watch, on March 12, 2019, a court criminally charged and 
        issued arrest warrants for 8 leading members of the CNRP, 
        including former CNRP leader Sam Rainsy, who had left Cambodia 
        ahead of the July 2018 election, as well as Mu Sochua, Ou 
        Chanrith, Eng Chhai Eang, Men Sothavarin, Long Ry, Tob Van 
        Chan, and Ho Vann.
            (11) The Government of Cambodia has arrested many 
        opposition party members and democracy activists who remained 
        in Cambodia. More than 80 opposition party supporters and 
        activists were arrested in 2019 and were released on bail with 
        charges still pending and could face re-arrest any time.
            (12) In November 2019, Sam Rainsy made a failed attempt to 
        return to Cambodia to partake in mass pro-democracy protests. 
        Approximately 150 CNRP activists were put on trial in 2020 and 
        2021 for treason for calling for his return.
            (13) In March 2021, a Cambodian court convicted and 
        sentenced Sam Rainsy in absentia to 25 years in prison and 8 
        other opposition figures living in exile, including Rainsy's 
        wife Tioulong Saumura, as well as Mu Sochua, Eng Chhay Eang, 
        Men Sothavarin, Ou Chanrith, Ho Vann, Long Ry, and Nuth 
        Romduol, to between 20 and 22 years.
            (14) Prime Minister Hun Sen has used the COVID-19 pandemic 
        as justification to further consolidate power and the Cambodia 
        People's Party-controlled National Assembly passed new laws to 
        further curtail the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful 
        assembly, and association.
            (15) According to Human Rights Watch, under the guise of 
        the pandemic, authorities--
                    (A) banned protests organized by youth and 
                environmental activists;
                    (B) detained and interrogated at least 30 people 
                for Facebook posts related to the pandemic; and
                    (C) charged one journalist for pandemic-related 
                reporting.
            (16) According to Freedom House, Hun Sen uses the police 
        and armed forces as instruments of repression. The military has 
        stood firmly behind Hun Sen and his crackdown on opposition 
        groups and Hun Sen has built a personal bodyguard unit in the 
        armed forces that he reportedly uses to harass and abuse 
        Cambodian People's Party opponents.
            (17) In August 2020, 14 youth and environmental activists 
        were detained by Cambodian authorities. In May 2021, 3 
        environmental activists were convicted on charges of 
        ``incitement to commit a felony or disturb social order'', 
        related to peaceful protests against authorities. In June 2021, 
        a Cambodian court charged 3 environmental activists with 
        ``plotting against the government and insulting the king''. The 
        2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of the 
        Department of State reported ``at least 40 political prisoners 
        or detainees'' in Cambodia.
            (18) In 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that 
        Cambodia had signed a deal with the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China to allow that Government access to and use of 
        the Ream Naval Base on the Gulf of Thailand, which would 
        violate the Constitution of Cambodia, which prohibits the 
        establishment of foreign military bases.
            (19) In 2019, the New York Times reported that a company 
        described by the Department of the Treasury as being a state-
        owned company of the People's Republic of China had secured a 
        99-year lease to build an airport capable of supporting 
        military aircraft at Dara Sakor, raising concerns that Beijing 
        intends to use this dual-use facility for its military, which 
        would violate the Constitution of Cambodia.
            (20) In section 401 of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act 
        of 2018 (Public Law 115-409; 132 Stat. 5407), Congress 
        expressed serious concerns with the rule of law and civil 
        liberties in Cambodia and made the finding that the promotion 
        of human rights and respect for democratic values in the Indo-
        Pacific region is in the United States national security 
        interest.
            (21) The 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of 
        the Department of State stated, of Cambodia, ``Corruption was 
        endemic throughout society and government. There were reports 
        police, prosecutors, investigating judges, and presiding judges 
        took bribes from owners of both legal and illegal businesses. 
        Citizens frequently and publicly complained about corruption. 
        Meager salaries contributed to `survival corruption' among low-
        level public servants, while a culture of impunity enabled 
        corruption to flourish among senior officials.''.
            (22) Section 7043(b) of the Department of State, Foreign 
        Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2018 
        (division K of Public Law 115-141; 132 Stat. 918) and section 
        201(f) of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public 
        Law 115-409; 132 Stat. 5392) restrict assistance to Cambodia 
        until the Government of Cambodia takes effective steps to--
                    (A) strengthen regional security and stability, 
                particularly regarding territorial disputes in the 
                South China Sea and the enforcement of international 
                sanctions with respect to North Korea; and
                    (B) respect the rights and responsibilities 
                enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of 
                Cambodia as enacted in 1993, including through the--
                            (i) restoration of the civil and political 
                        rights of the opposition Cambodia National 
                        Rescue Party, media, and civil society 
                        organizations;
                            (ii) restoration of all elected officials 
                        to their elected offices; and
                            (iii) release of all political prisoners, 
                        including journalists, civil society activists, 
                        and members of the opposition political party.
            (23) On December 9, 2019, the Department of the Treasury 
        imposed sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
        Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-
        328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) with respect to certain corrupt 
        Cambodian actors and their networks.
            (24) In February 2019, the European Union began intense 
        scrutiny of Cambodia's eligibility to for preferential trade 
        access in light of the deterioration of democracy, the rule of 
        law, and the protection of human rights in Cambodia. In 
        February 2020, the European Union, Cambodia's largest export 
        market, partially suspended trade preferences for Cambodia 
        under its ``Everything but Arms'' trade program, in response to 
        Cambodia's violations of civil and political rights.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States is committed to promoting democracy, 
        human rights, and the rule of law in Cambodia, as laid out in 
        the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements;
            (2) the United States Government, through diplomacy and 
        assistance, must urge the Government of Cambodia to--
                    (A) release all political prisoners;
                    (B) drop all politically motivated charges and 
                vacate convictions against members of the Cambodia 
                National Rescue Party, journalists, and civil society 
                activists; and
                    (C) restore full political rights to the Cambodia 
                National Rescue Party and other political parties;
            (3) the United States Government should urge the Government 
        of Cambodia--
                    (A) to reverse the policies and actions that have 
                resulted in the dismantling of democracy, the blatant 
                disregard of fundamental human rights, and the 
                breakdown of rule of law in Cambodia;
                    (B) to immediately discontinue the imprisonment and 
                judicial harassment of journalists, political 
                dissidents, and activists, and drop politically 
                motivated charges;
                    (C) to halt the threat of mass arrests and violence 
                if and when Cambodia National Rescue Party members 
                currently overseas return to Cambodia;
                    (D) to reinstate the political status of the 
                Cambodia National Rescue Party and other opposition 
                parties, restore the Cambodia National Rescue Party's 
                elected seats in the National Assembly, and support 
                electoral reform efforts in Cambodia with free and fair 
                elections monitored by international observers;
                    (E) to ensure that media outlets are able to 
                operate freely and without interference, including 
                having the ability to apply for and receive licenses to 
                operate within Cambodia; and
                    (F) to consider how allowing the People's 
                Liberation Army to conduct activities, gain access, or 
                establish a presence in Cambodia would harm Cambodia's 
                relationships with its neighbors, partners, and allies, 
                and violate the Constitution of Cambodia;
            (4) Prime Minister Hun Sen is directly responsible, and 
        should be held accountable, for the safety, health, and welfare 
        of exiled Cambodia National Rescue Party leaders and their 
        supporters upon their return to Cambodia;
            (5) other governments throughout the Indo-Pacific region 
        should--
                    (A) urge the Government of Cambodia to allow the 
                peaceful return of exiled Cambodia National Rescue 
                Party leaders and their supporters; and
                    (B) refrain from illegally restricting the rights 
                of Cambodia National Rescue Party members to travel to 
                and through their countries as they return; and
            (6) in the absence of systemic democratic reforms on the 
        part of the Government of Cambodia, there is need for 
        additional United States Government measures, including through 
        legislation and executive action.

SEC. 4. SANCTIONS RELATING TO UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA.

    (a) Identification of Persons Responsible for Undermining Democracy 
in Cambodia.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a list of--
                    (A) each foreign person, including any senior 
                official of the Government, military, or security 
                forces of Cambodia, who the President determines has, 
                on or after such date of enactment--
                            (i) directly and substantially undermined 
                        democracy in Cambodia, including through the 
                        use of baseless legal charges, malicious 
                        prosecution, or mass trials;
                            (ii) committed or directed serious human 
                        rights violations associated with undermining 
                        democracy in Cambodia; or
                            (iii) engaged in or directed acts of 
                        significant corruption, including the 
                        expropriation of private or public assets for 
                        personal gain, corruption related to government 
                        contracts or the extraction of natural 
                        resources, bribery, or the facilitation or 
                        transfer of the proceeds of corruption to 
                        foreign jurisdictions; and
                    (B) each foreign person owned or controlled by an 
                official described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Updates.--The President shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees updated lists under paragraph (1) as 
        new information becomes available.
    (b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose the 
following sanctions with respect to each foreign person on the list 
required by subsection (a):
            (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.) (except 
        that the requirements of section 202 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 
        1701) shall not apply) to the extent necessary to block and 
        prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property 
        of the person 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) Aliens inadmissible for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--In the case of an 
                individual, that individual is--
                            (i) inadmissible to the United States;
                            (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
                        documentation to enter the United States; and
                            (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
                        or paroled into the United States or to receive 
                        any other benefit under the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
                    (B) Current visas revoked.--
                            (i) In general.--The visa or other entry 
                        documentation of the individual shall be 
                        revoked, regardless of when such visa or other 
                        entry documentation is or was issued.
                            (ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under 
                        clause (i) shall--
                                    (I) take effect immediately; and
                                    (II) automatically cancel any other 
                                valid visa or entry documentation that 
                                is in the individual's possession.
    (c) Exceptions.--
            (1) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
                    (A) In general.--The authorities and requirements 
                to impose sanctions authorized under subsection (b)(1) 
                shall not include the authority or requirement to 
                impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
                    (B) Good defined.--In this paragraph, the term 
                ``good'' means any article, natural or manmade 
                substance, material, supply or manufactured product, 
                including inspection and test equipment, and excluding 
                technical data.
            (2) Exception to comply with international obligations.--
        Sanctions under subsection (b)(2) shall not apply with respect 
        to a foreign person if admitting or paroling the person into 
        the United States is necessary to permit the United States to 
        comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 
        United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 
        entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United 
        Nations and the United States, or other applicable 
        international obligations of the United States.
    (d) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions 
under subsection (b) with respect to a foreign person on the list 
required by subsection (a) if the President determines and certifies to 
the appropriate congressional committees that such a waiver is in the 
national interest of the United States.
    (e) Suspension of Sanctions.--
            (1) Suspension.--The requirement to impose sanctions under 
        this section may be suspended for an initial period of not more 
        than one year if the President determines and certifies to the 
        appropriate congressional committees that Cambodia is making 
        meaningful progress toward the following:
                    (A) Ending government efforts to undermine 
                democracy.
                    (B) Ending human rights violations associated with 
                undermining democracy.
                    (C) Releasing all political prisoners.
                    (D) Dropping all politically motivated charges and 
                vacating convictions from any such charges against 
                members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, 
                journalists, and civil society activists.
                    (E) Conducting free and fair elections that allow 
                for the active participation of credible opposition 
                candidates.
            (2) Renewal of suspension.--The suspension of sanctions 
        under paragraph (1) may be renewed for additional, consecutive 
        one-year periods if the President determines and certifies to 
        the appropriate congressional committees that Cambodia 
        continued to make meaningful progress toward satisfying the 
        conditions described in that paragraph during the year 
        preceding the certification.
    (f) Implementation; Penalties.--
            (1) 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.
            (2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
        violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of 
        subsection (b)(1) or any regulation, license, or order issued 
        to carry out that subsection shall be subject to the penalties 
        set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the 
        International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to 
        the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act 
        described in subsection (a) of that section.
    (g) Sunset.--This section shall terminate on the date that is 5 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON ACTIVITY OF THE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY AND 
              GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN CAMBODIA.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report assessing--
            (1) the involvement of the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China or the People's Liberation Army in upgrading 
        existing facilities or constructing new facilities at Ream 
        Naval Base and Dara Sakor Airport in Cambodia;
            (2) any actual or projected benefits, including any 
        enhancement of the power projection capabilities of the 
        People's Liberation Army, that the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China or the People's Liberation Army may accrue as 
        a result of such upgrades or construction;
            (3) the impact that the presence of the People's Liberation 
        Army in Cambodia may have on the interests, allies, and 
        partners of the United States in the region;
            (4) any efforts undertaken by the United States Government 
        to convey to the Government of Cambodia the concerns relating 
        to the presence of the People's Liberation Army and the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China in Cambodia and 
        the impact that presence could have on adherence to the 
        Constitution of Cambodia; and
            (5) the impact the presence of the People's Liberation Army 
        in Cambodia, as well as closer government-to-government ties 
        between Cambodia and the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China, including through investments under the Belt and Road 
        Initiative, has had on the deterioration of democracy and human 
        rights inside Cambodia.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
        person that is not a United States person.
            (3) People's liberation army.--The term ``People's 
        Liberation Army'' means the armed forces of the People's 
        Republic of China.
            (4) 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.
            (5) 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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