[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1464 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1464

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twelve


                                 An Act


 
  To express the sense of Congress regarding North Korean children and 
  children of one North Korean parent and to require the Department of 
State regularly to brief appropriate congressional committees on efforts 
to advocate for and develop a strategy to provide assistance in the best 
                       interest of these children.

    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 Child Welfare Act of 
2012''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) hundreds of thousands of North Korean children suffer from 
    malnutrition in North Korea, and North Korean children or children 
    of one North Korean parent who are living outside of North Korea 
    may face statelessness in neighboring countries; and
        (2) the Secretary of State should advocate for the best 
    interests of these children, including, when possible, facilitating 
    immediate protection for those living outside North Korea through 
    family reunification or, if appropriate and eligible in individual 
    cases, domestic or international adoption.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
    ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
    Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 
    Affairs of the House of Representatives.
        (2) Hague country.--The term ``Hague country'' means a country 
    where the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in 
    Respect of Intercountry Adoption, done at The Hague May 29, 1993, 
    has entered into force and is fully implemented.
        (3) Non-hague country.--The term ``non-Hague country'' means a 
    country where the Convention on Protection of Children and 
    Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, done at The Hague 
    May 29, 1993, has not entered into force.
SEC. 4. BRIEFINGS ON THE WELFARE OF NORTH KOREAN CHILDREN.
    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall designate a 
representative to regularly brief the appropriate congressional 
committees in an unclassified setting on United States Government 
efforts to advocate for the best interests of North Korean children and 
children of one North Korean parent, including efforts to address, when 
appropriate, the adoption of such children living outside North Korea 
without parental care.
    (b) Contents.--The Secretary's designee shall be prepared to 
address in each briefing the following topics:
        (1) The analysis of the Department of State of the challenges 
    facing North Korean children residing outside North Korea and 
    challenges facing children of one North Korean parent in other 
    countries who are fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or 
    de facto stateless persons.
        (2) Department of State efforts to advocate for the best 
    interest of North Korean children residing outside North Korea or 
    children of one North Korean parent living in other countries who 
    are fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or de facto 
    stateless persons, including, when possible, efforts to address the 
    immediate care and family reunification of these children, and, in 
    individual cases where appropriate, the adoption of eligible North 
    Korean children living outside North Korea and children of one 
    North Korean parent living outside North Korea.
        (3) Department of State efforts to develop a comprehensive 
    strategy to address challenges that United States citizens would 
    encounter in attempting to adopt, via intercountry adoption, North 
    Korean-origin children residing in other countries or children of 
    one North Korean parent residing outside North Korea who are 
    fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or de facto stateless 
    persons, including efforts to overcome the complexities involved in 
    determining jurisdiction for best interest determinations and 
    adoption processing, if appropriate, of those who habitually reside 
    in a Hague country or a non-Hague country.
        (4) Department of State diplomatic efforts to encourage 
    countries in which North Korean children or children of one North 
    Korean parent are fleeing persecution or reside as de jure or de 
    facto stateless persons to resolve issues of statelessness of North 
    Koreans residing in that country.
        (5) Department of State efforts to work with the Government of 
    the Republic of Korea to establish pilot programs that identify, 
    provide for the immediate care of, and assist in the family 
    reunification of North Korean children and children of one North 
    Korean parent living within South Korea and other countries who are 
    fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or de facto stateless 
    persons.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.