Author: Laura McGrew

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 4

ISBN-13: 9781601276551

Cambodia’s October 1991 Paris Peace Agreement (PPA) was the first major multilateral peace accord after the end of the Cold War. Despite the PPA’s remarkable success at ending a complex, decades-long conflict, a political crisis following Cambodia’s 2013–14 elections shows that the peace process is still a work in progress. The leader of Cambodia’s main opposition political party quit in February 2016 claiming government persecution. Two weeks later, the Cambodian Parliament revised the Political Party Law to enable dissolution of the opposition, setting the stage for possible conflict around local commune elections scheduled for June 2017. The current unrest in Cambodia can be traced to the implementation of the PPA and the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, which oversaw initial implementation of the 1991 accords. Specifically, the power-sharing elements of the accords were not fully implemented, which has e ectively allowed one-party rule for the past twenty years. • The political unrest in Cambodia can be addressed by returning to the principles of the PPA. In particular, strong election monitoring is needed to reduce the risk of violence. A track II dialogue about political participation in elections supported by the international community could also help reduce tensions.