{ "id": "IN10918", "type": "CRS Insight", "typeId": "INSIGHTS", "number": "IN10918", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 583520, "date": "2018-08-01", "retrieved": "2018-08-07T13:38:15.504858", "title": "Cambodian Election", "summary": "The Cambodian National Assembly election, held on July 29, 2018, resulted in a victory for the ruling Cambodian People\u2019s Party (CPP). Critics viewed the election, in which the CPP likely won all 125 parliamentary seats, as neither free nor fair and the victory as \u201chollow\u201d given that the CPP banned the largest opposition party in 2017. The Trump Administration stated that the poll \u201cfailed to represent the will of the Cambodian people\u201d and represented \u201cthe most significant setback yet to the democratic system enshrined in Cambodia\u2019s constitution...\u201d Nearly 600,000 ballots, or roughly 9% of votes cast, reportedly were invalid, most of which the opposition believes were purposely spoiled to protest the illegitimacy of the election.\nPolitical History\nBetween 1975 and 1991, Cambodia endured the four-year reign of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, during which an estimated 2 million Cambodians died, as well as Vietnamese invasion and occupation, and civil war. The Paris Peace Agreement, signed by Cambodia and 18 other nations pledging to support the country\u2019s sovereignty and reconstruction on October 23, 1991, ended the conflict. It also established a \u201cliberal democracy\u201d with \u201cperiodic and genuine elections.\u201d \nSince the United Nations administered the first postwar national elections in 1993, the Kingdom of Cambodia has made fitful progress in its political and social development, including the conduct of elections and growth of civil society. According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data, official development assistance (ODA) from major OECD aid donors, including the United States, totaled more than $10 billion between 1995 and 2016. This assistance helped to restore and develop Cambodian political, social, and economic institutions that had been destroyed under the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). In recent years, assistance from China, which comes without conditions for good governance and human rights, has roughly matched total ODA flows from OECD donors to Cambodia.\nPolitical Developments\nThe Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), a union of two opposition parties led by Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, made significant gains in the 2013 parliamentary election and 2017 local elections. The CNRP\u2019s strength reflected a younger and more globalized electorate that is less focused on Cambodia\u2019s past turbulence, more concerned about corruption and inequality, and more demanding about government accountability and performance. The threat of a CNRP victory in 2018 compelled Hun Sen, who often has employed undemocratic means to stay in power, to crack down on the opposition. In November 2017, the Supreme Court of Cambodia made a ruling that dissolved the CNRP for \u201cconspiring with the United States to overthrow the government.\u201d U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt stated that Hun Sen\u2019s accusations that the United States is attempting to overthrow his government are \u201cinaccurate, misleading, and baseless.\u201d\nSince 2008, former CNRP president Sam Rainsy has faced several defamation charges regarded by many observers as politically motivated, and has spent most of his time in exile. In December 2017, Sam was charged with treason for posting a video on social media urging security personnel not to \u201cobey orders from any dictators if they order you to shoot and kill innocent people.\u201d Former CNRP vice-president Kem Sokha has been detained since September 2017 awaiting trial for treason, or conspiracy with a foreign power, allegedly for collaborating with the United States to foment a popular overthrow of the CPP. \nThe Cambodian government has placed increasing restrictions on political and social activism, civil society, free speech, and foreign-funded democracy programs. Since late 2015, more than 25 opposition members and government critics have been arrested. In 2017, the government ordered the Cambodia Daily, known as an opposition newspaper, to shut down, ostensibly for failing to pay taxes. In 2017, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry expelled the Washington, DC-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), which receives U.S. funding and was engaged in democracy programs in Cambodia, on the grounds that it was not registered with the government. \nIn 2017, the government closed more than one dozen Cambodian radio stations that sold air time to Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA). RFA, facing political and economic pressure from the government, closed its Phnom Penh office. In May 2018, the government made its first arrest under a l\u00e8se-majest\u00e9 law, passed by the National Assembly in February 2018, which makes insulting the monarch a crime. \nU.S. Policy Responses\nU.S. relations with Cambodia have become strained in recent years due to Hun Sen\u2019s authoritarian actions. The Trump Administration announced in December 2017 that the U.S. government would \u201crestrict entry into the United States of those individuals involved in undermining democracy in Cambodia.\u201d Pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which implemented the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (\u00a71261 of P.L. 114-328), in June 2018 the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Cambodian General Hing Bun Hieng, commander of Hun Sen\u2019s bodyguard unit, \u201cfor being the leader of an entity involved in serious human rights abuses.\u201d Sanctioned individuals are denied entry into the United States, and any assets that they hold in the United States are blocked. \nThe Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141) imposes democracy-related and other conditions upon U.S. assistance to the government of Cambodia. H.R. 5754, the Cambodia Democracy Act of 2018, which was passed in the House on July 25, 2018, would impose visa restrictions and block assets of senior government officials that the President determines have undermined democracy or committed or directed serious human rights violations. S.Res. 279, passed by the Senate on November 16, 2017, urges the Department of the Treasury to consider placing all senior Cambodian government officials implicated in the suppression of democracy and human rights abuses on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list and calls on the Cambodian government to release opposition leader Kem Sokha. Some policymakers have considered suspending Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) duty-free treatment upon some Cambodian exports to the United States worth about $400 million in order to pressure Hun Sen into reversing his suppression of democracy.", "type": "CRS Insight", "typeId": "INSIGHTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/IN10918", "sha1": "ac190823f77a01384a60809af4363ff71ef37d5a", "filename": "files/20180801_IN10918_ac190823f77a01384a60809af4363ff71ef37d5a.html", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4911, "name": "East Asia & Pacific" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 582204, "date": "2018-06-20", "retrieved": "2018-06-25T13:10:28.202248", "title": "Cambodian Elections", "summary": "Cambodian National Assembly elections, scheduled for July 29, 2018, are expected to be a setback for the country\u2019s prospects for democratization. The ruling political party, the Cambodian People\u2019s Party (CPP), banned the largest opposition party in 2017 and will run virtually unopposed. Steps taken by the Trump Administration and Congress to respond to the Cambodian government\u2019s \u201canti-democratic\u201d actions have been met with defiance by the Cambodian leader, Hun Sen. \nPolitical History\nBetween 1975 and 1991, Cambodia endured the four-year reign of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, also known as the Khmer Rouge, during which an estimated two million Cambodians died, as well as Vietnamese invasion and occupation, and civil war. The Paris Peace Agreement, signed by Cambodia and 18 other nations pledging to support the country\u2019s sovereignty and reconstruction on October 23, 1991, ended the conflict. It also established a \u201cliberal democracy\u201d with \u201cperiodic and genuine elections.\u201d \nSince the United Nations administered the first post-war national elections in 1993, the Kingdom of Cambodia has made fitful progress in its political and social development, including the conduct of elections and growth of civil society. Official Development Assistance (ODA), which totaled more than $10 billion between 1995 and 2016 (according to OECD data), helped restore and develop Cambodian political, social, and economic institutions, most of which were destroyed under the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). In recent years, assistance from China has roughly matched total annual ODA flows from OECD member countries, and it appears that Prime Minister Hun Sen has embraced Chinese assistance as an alternative to Western aid, which often comes with conditions for democratic governance. \nRecent Political Developments\nThe Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), a union of two opposition parties led by Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, made significant gains in the 2013 parliamentary elections and 2017 local elections. The CNRP\u2019s strength reflected a younger and more globalized electorate that is less focused on Cambodia\u2019s past turbulence, more concerned about corruption and inequality, and more demanding about government accountability and performance. \nCambodia also has been under pressure to improve the quality of its elections, with many Western governments, including the United States, providing assistance to increase participation, improve transparency, and ensure polls are free and fair. The threat of a CNRP victory in 2018 appears to have compelled Hun Sen, who often has employed undemocratic means to stay in power, to crack down on the opposition. In November 2017, the Supreme Court of Cambodia made a ruling that dissolved the CNRP for \u201cconspiring with the United States to overthrow the government.\u201d U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt said Hun Sen\u2019s accusations that the U.S. government is attempting to overthrow his government are \u201cinaccurate, misleading, and baseless.\u201d\nSince 2008, former CNRP president Sam Rainsy has faced several defamation charges regarded by many observers as politically motivated, and has spent most of his time in exile. In December 2017, Sam was charged with treason for posting a video on social media urging security personnel not to \u201cobey orders from any dictators if they order you to shoot and kill innocent people.\u201d He has called upon Cambodians to boycott the 2018 elections. Former CNRP vice-president Kem Sokha has been detained since September 2017 awaiting trial for treason, or conspiracy with a foreign power, allegedly for collaborating with the United States to foment a popular overthrow of the CPP. \nThe Cambodian government has placed increasing restrictions on political and social activism, civil society, free speech, and foreign-funded democracy programs. Since late 2015, more than 25 opposition Members and government critics have been arrested. In 2017, the government ordered the Cambodia Daily, known as an opposition newspaper, to shut down, ostensibly for failing to pay taxes. In 2017, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry expelled the National Democratic Institute (NDI), which receives U.S. funding and was engaged in democracy programs in Cambodia, on the grounds that the U.S.-based organization was not registered with the government. \nIn 2017, the government closed more than one dozen Cambodian radio stations that sold air time to Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA). RFA, facing political and economic pressure from the government, closed its Phnom Penh office. In May 2018, the government made its first arrest under a l\u00e8se-majest\u00e9 law, passed by the National Assembly in February 2018, which makes insulting the monarch a crime. \nU.S. Policy Responses\nU.S. relations with Cambodia have become strained in recent years in light of Hun Sen\u2019s suppression of political opponents and growing embrace of China. The Trump Administration announced in December 2017 that the U.S. government would \u201crestrict entry into the United States of those individuals involved in undermining democracy in Cambodia.\u201d Pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which implemented the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Section 1261 of P.L. 114-328), in June 2018 the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Cambodian General Hing Bun Hieng, commander of Hun Sen\u2019s bodyguard unit, \u201cfor being the leader of an entity involved in serious human rights abuses.\u201d Sanctioned individuals are denied entry into the United States, and any assets that they hold in the United States are blocked. \nThe Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141) imposes democracy-related and other conditions upon U.S. assistance to the government of Cambodia, as would S. 2412, the Cambodia Accountability and Return on Investment Act of 2018, which is pending in the Senate. H.R. 5754, the Cambodia Democracy Act of 2018, which is pending in the House, would impose visa restrictions and block assets of senior government officials who have undermined democracy or committed serious human rights violations. S.Res. 279, passed by the Senate on November 16, 2017, urges the Department of the Treasury to consider placing all senior Cambodian government officials implicated in the suppression of democracy and human rights abuses on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list; calls on the Cambodian government to release opposition leader Kem Sokha; and supports free and fair elections in 2018 monitored by international observers. A similar resolution, H.Res. 661, is pending in the House.", "type": "CRS Insight", "typeId": "INSIGHTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/IN10918", "sha1": "897826083621e6c3858772b61f548f56c5f336b4", "filename": "files/20180620_IN10918_897826083621e6c3858772b61f548f56c5f336b4.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/IN10918", "sha1": "e7b02c86b077bcd9f93567b3e4ecd069dcf68b7a", "filename": "files/20180620_IN10918_e7b02c86b077bcd9f93567b3e4ecd069dcf68b7a.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "CRS Insights" ] }