[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8252-8253]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 163--CALLING FOR MORE ACCOUNTABLE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE 
                              FOR CAMBODIA

  Mr. GRAHAM (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 163

       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'' in Freedom House's 
     Freedom in the World 2013 report, which further states, 
     ``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'' in Cambodia is ``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 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; and
       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: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, 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.

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, the resolution I submit today with my 
colleague from Florida is straight forward. Credible and competitive 
parliamentary elections in Cambodia next month will be the measure or 
U.S. foreign assistance provided to the central government of that 
country in the future.
  According to the United States Agency for International Development, 
from 1993 to 2011 the United States provided Cambodia with over $1.2 
billion in economic and military assistance. The President's fiscal 
year 2014 budget request to Congress includes a total of $73.5 million 
in aid for Cambodia. America's investment in that Southeast Asian 
country has been anything but insignificant.
  Unfortunately, we are not getting a return on this investment when it 
comes to the advancement of the rule of law, democracy, and human 
rights. A chorus of concern with the upcoming elections has been 
expressed by the United Nations, Cambodian civil society, and 
opposition political party leaders, including Sam Rainsy who is 
prohibited from participating in the polls by the actions of courts 
controlled by the ruling Cambodian People's Party, CPP. Given recent 
comments by CPP Prime Minister Hun Sen that he intends to remain in 
power until 2026, one wonders whether the CPP has already decided the 
outcome of the elections.
  Less than credible and competitive polls subverts the will of the 
Cambodian people and perpetuates a level of corruption that ranks that 
country below Yemen in Transparency International's Corruption 
Perception Index, 2012. Equally troubling, Hun

[[Page 8253]]

Sen's close ties with Beijing may further draw Cambodia into the 
People's Republic of China's sphere of influence--to the determinant of 
security and stability in the region.
  I encourage the State Department to pay close attention to events in 
Cambodia and embrace the actions called for by this resolution should 
illegitimate elections be held next month. For many Asia-watchers, the 
response of the administration to these elections will help define the 
proposed United States pivot toward Asia.

                          ____________________