[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4240 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4240

                      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 reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, 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 ``Ambassador James R. Lilley and 
Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korea Human Rights Reauthorization 
Act of 2012''.
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.) and the North Korean Human Rights 
    Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-346) were the product 
    of broad, bipartisan consensus regarding the promotion of human 
    rights, transparency in the delivery of humanitarian assistance, 
    and the importance of 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) Although the transition to the leadership of Kim Jong-Un 
    after the death of Kim Jong-Il has introduced new uncertainties and 
    possibilities, the fundamental human rights and humanitarian 
    conditions inside North Korea remain deplorable, North Korean 
    refugees remain acutely vulnerable, and the findings in the 2004 
    Act and 2008 Reauthorization remain substantially accurate today.
        (4) Media and nongovernmental organizations have reported a 
    crackdown on unauthorized border crossing during the North Korean 
    leadership transition, including authorization for on-the-spot 
    execution of attempted defectors, as well as an increase in 
    punishments during the 100-day official mourning period after the 
    death of Kim Jong-Il.
        (5) Notwithstanding high-level advocacy by the United States, 
    the Republic of Korea, and the United Nations High Commissioner for 
    Refugees, China has continued to forcibly repatriate North Koreans, 
    including dozens of presumed refugees who were the subject of 
    international humanitarian appeals during February and March of 
    2012.
        (6) The United States, which has the largest international 
    refugee resettlement program in the world, has resettled 128 North 
    Koreans since passage of the 2004 Act, including 23 North Koreans 
    in fiscal year 2011.
        (7) In a career of Asia-focused public service that spanned 
    more than half a century, including service as a senior United 
    States diplomat in times and places where there were significant 
    challenges to human rights, Ambassador James R. Lilley also served 
    as a director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea 
    until his death in 2009.
        (8) Following his 18 years of service in the House of 
    Representatives, including as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs 
    Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Stephen J. Solarz 
    committed himself to, in his words, highlighting ``the plight of 
    ordinary North Koreans who are denied even the most basic human 
    rights, and the dramatic and heart-rending stories of those who 
    risk their lives in the struggle to escape what is certainly the 
    world's worst nightmare'', and served as co-chairman of the 
    Committee for Human Rights in North Korea until his death in 2010.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) the United States should continue to seek 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 
    countries, and close cooperation with its ally, the Republic of 
    Korea; and
        (2) 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 People's Republic 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 such North Koreans are refugees requiring 
        protection.
SEC. 4. 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 striking ``2012'' and inserting 
``2017''.
SEC. 5. 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. 6. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.
    Subsections (b)(1) and (c) of section 104 of the North Korean Human 
Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814) is amended by striking ``2012'' and 
inserting ``2017'' each place it appears.
SEC. 7. SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.
    Section 107(d) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 
U.S.C. 7817(d)) is amended by striking ``2012'' and inserting ``2017''.
SEC. 8. 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 ``2012'' and inserting ``2017''.
SEC. 9. 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--
        (1) by striking ``$20,000,000'' and inserting ``$5,000,000''; 
    and
        (2) by striking ``2005 through 2012'' and inserting ``2013 
    through 2017''.
  SEC. 10. ANNUAL REPORTS.
    Section 305(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 
U.S.C. 7845(a)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 
striking ``2012'' and inserting ``2017''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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