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1 1 (July 7, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemfm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ,a Congr WsonaI Research Service - informing Ih legilaive d bate sne1914 Updated July 7, 2023 Cambodia Overview The Department of State refers to the Kingdom of Cambodia, located in mainland Southeast Asia, as strategically significant. Bilateral relations have become strained during the past decade, particularly as Cambodia's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC) has grown closer and after Prime Minister Hun Sen banned the main opposition party in 2017. The U.S. government has sought to remain engaged with Cambodia while calling on Hun Sen to restore political rights and resist PRC influence. The United States has imposed restrictions on some foreign assistance in response to human rights concerns and it continues to provide support to Cambodian civil society. Some observers contend that Cambodian civil society, independent journalists, and urban youth are particularly receptive to continued U.S. engagement. In 2017, the Cambodian government suspended Angkor Sentinel, an annual joint exercise between U.S. Army Pacific and the Royal Cambodian Army first held in 2010. In 2018, the U.S. government suspended military assistance to Cambodia in response to its government's suppression of the political opposition. Politics and Human Rights Hun Sen has been the nation's head of government for 38 years, including as premier of the Vietnam-backed Republic of Kampuchea between 1985 and 1993. Since 1993, he has headed the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and served as prime minister of Cambodia, including as co-premier between 1993 and 1997. In 2021, the CPP reportedly endorsed the eldest son of Hun Sen, West Point graduate Hun Manet, as his successor. Hun Manet reportedly aims to run for a parliamentary seat in the next national election, scheduled for July 23, 2023. A win, which is considered highly probable, would make him eligible for the premiership. The king of Cambodia and head of state, a largely symbolic figure, is Norodom Sihamoni, who succeeded his father in 2004. Between 1993, when the United Nations administered Cambodia's first national election following the 1991 Paris Agreements that ended the country's civil war, and 2017, democratic institutions and practices had gradually evolved to allow widespread civic and political participation. During this period, Cambodia developed a vibrant civil society and a relatively free print media. The opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) made significant gains in the 2013 parliamentary election and 2017 local elections. In November 2017, the Supreme Court of Cambodia, allegedly at the behest of the government, issued a ruling that dissolved the CNRP for conspiring with the United States to overthrow the government. The CPP subsequently won all 125 seats in the 2018 National Assembly election. In the 2022 local elections, the CPP won 80% of commune council seats. The Candlelight Party, a revived opposition party that has attracted former CNRP members, won 18%. In May 2023, Cambodia's Constitutional Council upheld a decision by the National Election Committee that barred the Candlelight Party from participating in the July 2023 national election for failing to provide proper registration documents, which some outside observers described as a politically-motivated move. Cambodian courts have convicted opposition leader and former CNRP President Sam Rainsy, who lives in self- imposed exile in France, of numerous crimes that many observers view as politically motivated. In October 2022, Sam Rainsy was convicted in absentia to life in prison, on top of previous sentences. In April 2023, former CNRP Vice-President Kem Sokha was convicted of treason and sentenced to 27 years of house arrest. Since 2021, Cambodian courts have convicted over 115 opposition politicians and activists of crimes against the state. Figure I. Cambodia at a Glance Source: CRS (map) and Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, 2023. Since the lead up to the 2018 national election, Hun Sen has clamped down on civil society and circumscribed the space for independent media. In 2017, the Cambodian Foreign Ministry applied a restrictive new law on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to expel the U.S. government-funded National Democratic Institute, which was engaged in democracy promotion programs in Cambodia, on the grounds that it was not registered with the government. Roughly 25 human rights NGOs still operate in Cambodia, according to the Department of State, although they face increasing repression. In 2017, the government closed more than one dozen radio stations that sold airtime to U.S. government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. Human rights groups report that the Cambodian government restricts freedom of expression and the press in various ways, including through defamation lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, tax penalties, disapproval of permits and licenses, and harassment of journalists. In February

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