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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2109 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2326
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Edward J. Kennedy
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying
resolution:
Resolutions condemning political oppression and encouraging free and fair elections in
Cambodia.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Edward J. KennedyFirst MiddlesexVanna Howard17th Middlesex 1 of 3
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2109 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2326
By Mr. Kennedy, a petition (accompanied by resolutions, Senate, No. 2326) of Edward J.
Kennedy and Vanna Howard for the adoption of resolutions to condemn political oppression and
encouraging free and fair elections in Cambodia. Veterans and Federal Affairs.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 2406 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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Resolutions condemning political oppression and encouraging free and fair elections in
Cambodia.
1 WHEREAS free and fair elections are a vital component of a democratic state in the
2protection of the liberty and human rights of its citizenship; and
3 WHEREAS the Paris Peace Accords of 1991, signed by the United States and 19 other
4nations, sought to resolve political conflict and turmoil in Cambodia by setting forth the right to
5self-determination of its people through free and fair elections; and
6 WHEREAS significant expenditures in the form of international aid have been made in
7order to promote a pluralistic, multi-party democratic system in Cambodia; and
8 WHEREAS Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power in Cambodia since 1985 and has
9been using his absolute power to consolidate authority over the nation’s government, granting 2 of 3
10control of every state agency and security apparatus including the country's Supreme Court to the
11ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP); and
12 WHEREAS each of the five elections held in Cambodia for the office of Prime Minister
13since 1991 have been marked by fraud, voter intimidation, and the misuse of legal mechanisms
14by the government to suppress support for opposition candidates and parties, and have thereby
15not been free nor fair; and
16 WHEREAS the government of Cambodia has engaged in oppressive tactics aimed at
17limiting conditions that are intrinsic to a democratic state including the restriction of its media
18environment by ordering radio stations to cease operations and by arresting journalists; and
19 WHEREAS in efforts to repress viable political challenges, the government of Cambodia
20has dissolved the biggest and only viable rival party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party
21(CNRP), and has arrested said party’s President, Kem Sokha, on politically motivated charges;
22and
23 WHEREAS the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been enriched by its significant
24population of Cambodian American people, many of whom entered the United States as refugees
25or as asylum seekers escaping genocide and from conditions that demonstrate the humanitarian
26hardships posed by the absence of democracy; and
27 WHEREAS the United States has a responsibility to take action in order to prevent the
28undermining of democracy around the globe;
29 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature calls upon the Congress, the
30President and the Vice President of the United States to support and enact legislation and further 3 of 3
31request that Cambodia adopt the recent recommendations by the United Nations Special
32Rapporteur of Human Rights in Cambodia in order to promote democracy and prevent the
33further erosion of human rights in Cambodia, including the Cambodia Democracy Act of 2019
34and the Cambodian Trade Act of 2019; and
35 THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature transmit copies of
36this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the
37House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and
38Representative from Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States.