Senate Foreign Relations Committee members welcome commemoration of peace agreements as Cambodia’s current government threatens to undermine them

Washington (March 23, 2022) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the East Asia Subcommittee on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the East Asia Subcommittee, and Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today welcomed action by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance their resolution commemorating the landmark Cambodia Paris Peace Agreements. The Agreements, which were agreed to by 19 countries on October 23, 1991, laid the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, democratic, and sovereign Cambodia after 12 years of a brutal civil war, a commitment that the current government’s actions threaten to undermine.

“The landmark 1991 Cambodia Paris Peace Agreements laid the foundation for a prosperous, democratic, and sovereign Cambodia after 12 years of a brutal civil war. Hun Sen has overseen violations of these bedrock principles that not only threaten these Agreements but threaten the entire foundation of peace that they created,” said Chairman Markey. “Massachusetts is home to a rich Cambodian diaspora and I look forward to the full Senate passage of this resolution, which calls upon the Government of Cambodia to live up to each of the commitments of the Paris Peace Agreements.”  

“The Paris Peace Accords marked the end of decades of violent conflict in Cambodia and set up a framework which would establish an independent Cambodia. As we mark the anniversary of the accords, we urge the Cambodian government to uphold democratic values laid out in that agreement and defend their sovereignty in the region,” said Senator Romney.

“Since the Paris Peace Agreements were signed 30 years ago, we have unfortunately seen the government of Cambodia violate its citizens’ internationally recognized human rights and allow the Chinese military to establish a presence inside Cambodia,” said Senator Risch. “I urge the Cambodian government to remember these agreements and fulfill its commitments to democracy, human rights, and neutrality.”

A copy of the resolution can be found HERE.

Senators Markey, Romney, Menendez and Risch introduced this resolution last October, on the 30-year anniversary of the Agreements. The resolution notes that the promise of the Paris Peace Agreements remains unfulfilled due to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s violations of Cambodia’s Constitution and effective one-party rule since 1993.

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