Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), co-chair of the Congressional Cambodia Caucus, applauded the bipartisan passage of legislation which will enact sanctions on Cambodian government officials responsible for undermining democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.
Entitled the Cambodian Democracy Act of 2021, H.R.4686 would freeze all assets in the United States, restrict all financial transactions with the U.S., and deny entry to the U.S. by senior Cambodian government, military, and security force officials whom the President of the United States determines have “directly and substantially undermined democracy in Cambodia.”
“Despite repeated actions taken by both the United States and the international community, the authoritarian regime of Prime Minister Hun Sen continues to reject the democratic promises and processes he agreed to in the 1991 Paris Peace Accords,” Congressman Lowenthal said. “From shuttering or co-opting the free press, to banishing political opponents, to eliminating free and fair elections and then repeatedly declaring himself the people’s choice, the Hun Sen regime continues to do everything in its power to destroy any hope of democracy in Cambodia. The Cambodia Democracy Act’s sanctions are the price Hun Sen and his regime must pay for their relentless assault on the freedoms of the Cambodian people.”
