[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 178 (Thursday, November 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6482-S6483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 416--CALLING FOR THE PEACEFUL RETURN TO CAMBODIA OF 
            OPPOSITION PARTY MEMBERS AND DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS

  Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 416

       Whereas the people of the United States seek to strengthen 
     relations with the People of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and 
     ensure that they enjoy free and fair democratic elections, 
     the rule of law, and the fundamental freedoms of expression, 
     association, and assembly;
       Whereas the Government of Cambodia has taken a series of 
     steps to undermine democratic institutions, human rights, and 
     freedom of expression;
       Whereas, on several occasions since 2017, the Prime 
     Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, has urged opposition lawmakers 
     to defect and join the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), 
     and security forces coerced many such defections under threat 
     and duress;
       Whereas Cambodian authorities arrested the Cambodia 
     National Rescue Party (CNRP) opposition leader Kem Sokha on 
     September 3, 2017, for allegedly committing treason, and 
     continue to restrict his movements and communications to 
     conditions amounting to house arrest over two years later;
       Whereas, having outlawed the CNRP on November 16, 2017, 
     having banned 118 of its members from politics, and having 
     passed amendments to its Law on Political Parties that were 
     intended to stifle independent political parties, the CPP won 
     all 125 National Assembly seats in the July 29, 2018, 
     national election;
       Whereas the Department of State noted in its 2018 Human 
     Rights Report on Cambodia

[[Page S6483]]

     instances of arbitrary deprivation of life and other unlawful 
     or politically motivated killings, arbitrary arrest or 
     detention, denial of fair public trial, and other violations;
       Whereas Freedom House assessed Cambodia to be ``not free'' 
     in its Freedom in the World 2019 report;
       Whereas the crackdown by the Government of Cambodia on the 
     political opposition and other independent voices has caused 
     many CNRP leaders to flee abroad;
       Whereas, according to Human Rights Watch, on March 12, 
     2019, a court criminally charged and issued arrest warrants 
     for eight leading members of the CNRP who had left Cambodia 
     ahead of the July 2018 election: Sam Rainsy, Mu Sochua, Ou 
     Chanrith, Eng Chhai Eang, Men Sothavarin, Long Ry, Tob Van 
     Chan, and Ho Vann;
       Whereas the Government of Cambodia has arrested many 
     opposition party members and democracy activists who remained 
     in Cambodia, including bringing charges against more than 70 
     former CNRP members and detaining at least 35 of them since 
     CNRP members announced in August 2019 that they might return 
     to the country;
       Whereas a Cambodian court ordered a new investigation into 
     two Radio Free Asia journalists charged with espionage even 
     after two years of inquiry found insufficient evidence of 
     wrongdoing and after numerous human rights experts and a 
     bipartisan group of United States Senators in a March 15, 
     2018, letter to Hun Sen argued that the charges were 
     meritless;
       Whereas former CNRP leader, Sam Rainsy, and other members 
     of the CNRP and supporters of democracy intend to return to 
     Cambodia on November 9, 2019;
       Whereas Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened students that 
     they would have one of their ``remaining fingers cut off'' if 
     they joined the cause of the returning democracy activists 
     and ordered the military to attack any CNRP gatherings on 
     November 9, 2019;
       Whereas according to Amnesty International, two youth 
     activists have been arbitrarily detained since July for 
     attempting to peacefully commemorate the murder of a popular 
     government critic;
       Whereas, on November 16, 2017, the United States Senate 
     unanimously passed Senate Resolution 279 (115th Congress), a 
     bipartisan resolution reaffirming the commitment of the 
     United States to promote democracy, human rights, and the 
     rule of law in Cambodia; and
       Whereas the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public 
     Law 115-409) prohibits the authorization of appropriations to 
     the Government of Cambodia until the Secretary of State 
     certifies that Cambodia is taking effective steps in several 
     areas, including the restoration of the civil and political 
     rights of the CNRP, media, and civil society organizations: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) urges the Government of Cambodia to immediately and 
     unconditionally--
       (A) release all political prisoners;
       (B) drop all politically motivated charges against the CNRP 
     and civil society activists; and
       (C) restore full political rights to the CNRP;
       (2) deplores--
       (A) the deterioration of democracy and fundamental human 
     rights in Cambodia;
       (B) the continued imprisonment and judicial harassment of 
     journalists, prisoners of conscience, and other political 
     prisoners by the Government of Cambodia;
       (C) the breakdown of the rule of law and the lack of due 
     process in Cambodia; and
       (D) the potential for mass arrests and violence if and when 
     CNRP members currently overseas return to Cambodia;
       (3) holds Prime Minister Hun Sen directly responsible for 
     the safety, health, and welfare of exiled CNRP leaders and 
     their supporters upon their return to Cambodia;
       (4) calls on other governments throughout the Indo-Pacific 
     to--
       (A) urge the Government of Cambodia to allow the peaceful 
     return of exiled CNRP leaders and their supporters; and
       (B) refrain from unjustly restricting the rights of CNRP 
     members to travel to and through their countries as they 
     return; and
       (5) recognizes, in the absence of systemic democratic 
     reforms, the need for additional United States Government 
     measures, including through legislation and executive action.

                          ____________________