[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5834 Engrossed in House (EH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5834
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to promote respect
for the fundamental human rights of the people of North Korea, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``North Korean Human Rights
Reauthorization Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (Public Law
108-333; 22 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) (in this section referred to
as ``the Act'') was the product of broad, bipartisan consensus
in Congress regarding the promotion of human rights,
transparency in the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and
refugee protection.
(2) In addition to the longstanding commitment of the
United States to refugee and human rights advocacy, the United
States is home to the largest Korean population outside of
northeast Asia, and many in the two-million strong Korean-
American community have family ties to North Korea.
(3) Human rights and humanitarian conditions inside North
Korea are deplorable, North Korean refugees remain acutely
vulnerable, and the findings in section 3 of the Act remain
accurate today.
(4) The Government of China is conducting an increasingly
aggressive campaign to locate and forcibly return border-
crossers to North Korea, where they routinely face torture and
imprisonment, and sometimes execution. According to recent
reports, the Chinese Government is shutting down Christian
churches and imprisoning people who help North Korean
defectors, and has increased the bounty paid for turning in a
North Korean refugee by a factor of sixteen, to an amount
roughly equivalent to the average annual income in China.
(5) In an attempt to deter escape attempts, the Government
of North Korea has reportedly stepped up its public execution
of border-crossers and those who help others cross into China,
including the February 20, 2008, shooting of 13 women and 2 men
in Onsung County, and the March 30, 2008, execution of three
residents in Hyesan. As is commonly the case, employees and
residents of nearby institutions, enterprises, and
neighborhoods were required to attend and observe those
killings.
(6) In spite of the requirement of the Act that the Special
Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea (the ``Special Envoy'')
report to the Congress no later than April 16, 2005, a Special
Envoy was not appointed until August 19, 2005, more than four
months after the reporting deadline.
(7) The Special Envoy appointed by the President has filled
that position on a part-time basis only.
(8) On February 21, 2006, a bipartisan group of senior
Members of the House and Senate wrote Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice ``to express [their] deep concern for the lack
of progress in funding and implementing the key provisions of
the North Korean Human Rights Act'', particularly the lack of
North Korean refugee admissions to the United States.
(9) Although the United States refugee resettlement program
remains the largest in the world by far, the United States has
resettled only 37 North Koreans in the period from 2004 through
2007.
(10) From the end of 2004 through 2007, the Republic of
Korea resettled 5,961 North Koreans.
(11) Extensive delays in assessment and processing at
overseas posts have led numerous North Korean refugees to
abandon their quest for United States resettlement, and long
waits (of more than a year in some cases) have been the source
of considerable discouragement and frustration among refugees,
many of whom are awaiting United States resettlement in
circumstances that are unsafe and insecure.
(12) From 2000 through 2006, the United States granted
asylum to 15 North Koreans, as compared to 60 North Korean
asylum grantees in the United Kingdom, and 135 in Germany
during that same period.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States should make it a priority to seek
broader permission and greater cooperation from foreign
governments to allow the United States to process North Korean
refugees overseas for resettlement in the United States,
through persistent diplomacy by senior officials of the United
States, including United States ambassadors to Asia-Pacific
nations;
(2) at the same time that careful screening of intending
refugees is important, the United States also should make every
effort to ensure that its screening, processing, and
resettlement of North Korean refugees are as efficient and
expeditious as possible;
(3) the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues
should be a full-time position within the Department of State
in order to properly promote and coordinate North Korean human
rights, humanitarian, and refugee issues, as intended by the
North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-333; 22
U.S.C. 7801 et seq.);
(4) in an effort to more efficiently and actively
participate in humanitarian burden-sharing, the United States
should approach our ally, the Republic of Korea, to revisit and
explore new opportunities for coordinating efforts to screen
and resettle North Koreans who have expressed a wish to pursue
resettlement in the United States and have not yet availed
themselves of any right to citizenship they may enjoy under the
Constitution of the Republic of Korea; and
(5) because there are genuine refugees among North Koreans
fleeing into China who face severe punishments upon their
forcible return, the United States should urge the Government
of China to--
(A) immediately halt its forcible repatriation of
North Koreans;
(B) fulfill its obligations pursuant to the 1951
United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of
Refugees, and the 1995 Agreement on the Upgrading of
the UNHCR Mission in the People's Republic of China to
UNHCR Branch Office in the People's Republic of China;
and
(C) allow the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) unimpeded access to North Koreans
inside China to determine whether they are refugees and
whether they require assistance.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
Section 5(1)(A) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
(Public Law 108-333; 22 U.S.C. 7803(1)(A)) is amended by striking
``International Relations'' and inserting ``Foreign Affairs''.
SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS.
Section 102(b)(1) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22
U.S.C. 7812(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after ``2008'' the
following: ``and $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through
2012''.
SEC. 6. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees, as defined in section 5(1) of the
North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7803(1)), a report
that describes the status and content of current United States
broadcasting to North Korea and the extent to which the BBG has
achieved the goal of 12-hour-per-day broadcasting to North Korea
pursuant to section 103 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7813).
SEC. 7. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.
Section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22
U.S.C. 7814) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``2008'' and
inserting ``2012''; and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``in each of the 3 years
thereafter'' and inserting ``annually through 2012''.
SEC. 8. SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.
Section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C.
7817) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``human rights in
north korea'' and inserting ``north korean human rights
issues'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the first sentence--
(i) by striking ``human rights in North
Korea'' and inserting ``North Korean human
rights issues''; and
(ii) by inserting before the period at the
end the following: ``, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate'';
(B) in the second sentence, by inserting before the
period at the end the following: ``who shall have the
rank of ambassador and shall hold the office at the
pleasure of the President'';
(3) in subsection (b), by inserting before the period at
the end the following: ``, including the protection of those
people who have fled as refugees'';
(4) in subsection (c)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as
paragraphs (2) through (7), respectively;
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following new paragraph:
``(1) coordinate the implementation of activities carried
out pursuant to this Act;''; and
(C) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by
striking ``section 102'' and inserting ``sections 102
and 104''; and
(5) in subsection (d), by striking ``for the subsequent 5
year-period'' and inserting ``thereafter through 2012''.
SEC. 9. REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
Section 201(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22
U.S.C. 7831(a)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``in each of the 2 years thereafter'' and inserting ``annually
thereafter through 2012''.
SEC. 10. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH KOREA.
Section 203(c)(1) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22
U.S.C. 7833(c)(1)) is amended by striking ``2008'' and inserting
``2012''.
SEC. 11. ANNUAL REPORTS.
Section 305(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22
U.S.C. 7845(a)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``and Refugee''
before ``Information'';
(2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``for each of the following 5
years'' and inserting ``through 2012''; and
(B) by striking ``which shall include--'' and
inserting ``which shall include the following:'';
(3) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``the number of aliens'' and
inserting ``The number of aliens''; and
(B) by striking ``; and'' at the end and inserting
a period;
(4) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the number of aliens''
and inserting ``The number of aliens''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(3) The number of aliens who are nationals or citizens of
North Korea who contacted United States personnel overseas and
expressed an interest in pursuing resettlement in the United
States, irrespective of whether such aliens pursued the
resettlement process to its conclusion.
``(4) A detailed description of the measures undertaken by
the Secretary of State to carry out section 303, including
country-specific information with respect to United States
efforts to secure the cooperation and permission of the
governments of countries in East and Southeast Asia to
facilitate United States processing of North Koreans seeking
protection as refugees. The information required under this
paragraph may be provided in a classified format, if
necessary.''.
Passed the House of Representatives May 15, 2008.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5834
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to promote respect
for the fundamental human rights of the people of North Korea, and for
other purposes.