Cambodia Democracy Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 526 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 16, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 526 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cambodia Democracy 2 Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power 6 in Cambodia since 1985 and is the longest-serving 7 leader in Southeast Asia. Despite decades of inter- 8 national attention and assistance to promote a plu- 9 ralistic, multi-party democratic system in Cambodia, 10 the Government of Cambodia continues to be 11 undemocratically dominated by the ruling Cambodia 12 People’s Party (CPP), which controls every agency 13 and security apparatus of the state. 14 (2) In 2015, the CPP-controlled parliament 15 passed the ‘‘Law on Associations and Non-Govern- 16 mental Organizations’’, which gave the government 17 sweeping powers to revoke the registration of NGOs 18 that the government believed to be operating with a 19 political bias in a blatant attempt to restrict the le- 20 gitimate work of civil society. On August 23, 2017, 21 Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered the 22 closure of the National Democratic Institute and the 23 expulsion of its foreign staff. On September 15, 24 2017, Prime Minister Hun Sen called for the with- 25 drawal of all volunteers from the United States 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 526 RFS Peace Corps, which has operated in Cambodia since 1 2006 with 500 United States volunteers providing 2 English language and healthcare training. 3 (3) The Government of Cambodia has taken 4 several measures to restrict its media environment, 5 especially through politicized tax investigations 6 against independent media outlets that resulted in 7 the closure of The Cambodian Daily and Radio Free 8 Asia in early September 2017. Additionally, the Gov- 9 ernment of Cambodia has ordered several radio sta- 10 tions to stop the broadcasting of Radio Free Asia 11 and Voice of America programming. 12 (4) On September 3, 2017, Kem Sokha, the 13 President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party 14 (CNRP), was arrested on politically motivated 15 charges, including treason and conspiring to over- 16 throw the Government of Cambodia, and faces up to 17 30 years in prison. The CNRP’s previous leader, 18 Sam Rainsy, remains in exile. On November 16, 19 2017, Cambodia’s Supreme Court dissolved the 20 CNRP, eliminating the primary opposition party. 21 (5) Each of the six elections that have taken 22 place in Cambodia since 1991 were conducted in cir- 23 cumstances that were not free and fair, and were 24 marked by fraud, intimidation, violence, and the gov- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 526 RFS ernment’s misuse of legal mechanisms to weaken op- 1 position candidates and parties. 2 (6) In the most recent general election in July 3 2018, following the dissolution of the CNRP, the 4 CPP secured every parliamentary seat, an electoral 5 victory that a statement from the White House 6 Press Secretary stated was ‘‘neither free nor fair 7 and failed to represent the will of the Cambodian 8 people’’. 9 (7) The United States is committed to pro- 10 moting democracy, human rights, and the rule of 11 law in Cambodia. The United States continues to 12 urge the Government of Cambodia to immediately 13 release Mr. Kem Sokha, reinstate the political status 14 of the CNRP and restore its elected seats in the Na- 15 tional Assembly, and support electoral reform efforts 16 in Cambodia with free and fair elections monitored 17 by international observers. 18 SEC. 3. SANCTIONS RELATING TO UNDERMINING DEMOC- 19 RACY IN CAMBODIA. 20 (a) DESIGNATION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR 21 UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY IN CAMBODIA.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 526 RFS President shall designate and transmit to the appro- 1 priate congressional committees a list of— 2 (A) each senior official of the government, 3 military, or security forces of Cambodia who the 4 President determines has directly and substan- 5 tially undermined democracy in Cambodia; 6 (B) each senior official of the government, 7 military, or security forces of Cambodia who the 8 President determines has committed or directed 9 serious human rights violations associated with 10 undermining democracy in Cambodia; and 11 (C) entities owned or controlled by senior 12 officials of the government, military, or security 13 forces of Cambodia described in subparagraphs 14 (A) and (B). 15 (2) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President 16 shall impose the sanctions described in subsection 17 (b) on each foreign person designated pursuant to 18 paragraph (1). 19 (3) UPDATES.—The President shall transmit to 20 the appropriate congressional committees updated 21 lists under paragraph (1) as new information be- 22 comes available. 23 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 24 scribed in this subsection are the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 526 RFS (1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall ex- 1 ercise all of the powers granted to the President 2 under the International Emergency Economic Pow- 3 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent nec- 4 essary to block and prohibit all transactions in prop- 5 erty and interests in property of a foreign person 6 designated under subsection (a) if such property and 7 interests in property are in the United States, come 8 within the United States, or are or come within the 9 possession or control of a United States person. 10 (2) INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDIVID- 11 UALS.— 12 (A) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS AND ADMIS- 13 SION TO THE UNITED STATES.—A foreign per- 14 son designated under subsection (a) is— 15 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 16 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 17 documentation to enter the United States; 18 and 19 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 20 or paroled into the United States or to re- 21 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra- 22 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 23 seq.). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 526 RFS (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—A foreign 1 person designated under subsection (a) is sub- 2 ject to the following: 3 (i) Revocation of any visa or other 4 entry documentation regardless of when 5 the visa or other entry documentation is or 6 was issued. 7 (ii) A revocation under clause (i) 8 shall— 9 (I) take effect immediately; and 10 (II) automatically cancel any 11 other valid visa or entry documenta- 12 tion that is in the foreign person’s 13 possession. 14 (C) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER- 15 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under this 16 paragraph shall not apply with respect to a for- 17 eign person if admitting or paroling the person 18 into the United States is necessary to permit 19 the United States to comply with the Agree- 20 ment regarding the Headquarters of the United 21 Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 22 1947, and entered into force November 21, 23 1947, between the United Nations and the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 526 RFS United States, or other applicable international 1 obligations. 2 (3) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 3 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter- 4 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 5 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a foreign person that 6 violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or 7 causes a violation of paragraph (1) to the same ex- 8 tent that such penalties apply to a person that com- 9 mits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of 10 such section 206. 11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exercise 12 all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 13 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 14 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section. 15 (d) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica- 16 tion of sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect 17 to a person designated under subsection (a) if the Presi- 18 dent determines and certifies to the appropriate congres- 19 sional committees that such waiver is in the national inter- 20 est of the United States. 21 (e) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 22 GOODS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and require- 24 ments to impose sanctions authorized under this Act 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 526 RFS shall not include the authority or requirement to im- 1 pose sanctions on the importation of goods. 2 (2) GOOD DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 3 term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man- 4 made substance, material, supply or manufactured 5 product, including inspection and test equipment, 6 and excluding technical data. 7 SEC. 4. SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS. 8 (a) SUSPENSION.—The sanctions described in section 9 3 may be suspended for up to 1-year upon certification 10 by the President to the appropriate congressional commit- 11 tees that Cambodia is making meaningful progress toward 12 the following: 13 (1) Ending government efforts to undermine 14 democracy. 15 (2) Ending human rights violations associated 16 with undermining democracy. 17 (3) Conducting free and fair elections which 18 allow for the active participation of credible opposi- 19 tion candidates. 20 (b) RENEWAL OF SUSPENSION.—The suspension de- 21 scribed in subsection (a) may be renewed for additional, 22 consecutive-day periods if the President certifies to the ap- 23 propriate congressional committees that Cambodia is con- 24 tinuing to make meaningful progress towards satisfying 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 526 RFS the conditions described in such subsection during the pre- 1 vious year. 2 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 3 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 4 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 5 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 6 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 7 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 8 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 9 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 10 vote on passage. 11 SEC. 6. SUNSET. 12 This Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years 13 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 14 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 15 In this Act: 16 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 17 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 18 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs 19 and the Committee on Financial Services of the 20 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 21 Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, 22 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 23 (2) PERSON.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 526 RFS (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘person’’ 1 means— 2 (i) a natural person; or 3 (ii) a corporation, business associa- 4 tion, partnership, society, trust, financial 5 institution, insurer, underwriter, guar- 6 antor, and any other business organization, 7 any other nongovernmental entity, organi- 8 zation, or group, and any governmental en- 9 tity operating as a business enterprise or 10 any successor to any entity described in 11 this clause. 12 (B) APPLICATION TO GOVERNMENTAL EN- 13 TITIES.—The term ‘‘person’’ does not include a 14 government or governmental entity that is not 15 operating as a business enterprise. 16 (3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 17 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 18 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law- 19 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 20 United States; or 21 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 22 the United States or of any jurisdiction of the 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 526 RFS United States, including a foreign branch of 1 such an entity. 2 Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H526.RFS H526 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS