[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2061 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2061
To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 6, 2017
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Engel, Mr. Yoho, and Mr. Sherman)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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 ``North Korean Human Rights
Reauthorization Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C.
7801 et seq.), the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization
Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-346), and the Ambassador James R.
Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korea Human
Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-172) were
the products of broad, bipartisan consensus regarding the
promotion of human rights, transparency in the delivery of
humanitarian assistance, and the importance of refugee
protection.
(2) Fundamental human rights and humanitarian conditions
inside North Korea remain deplorable, North Korean refugees
remain acutely vulnerable, and the congressional findings
included in the Acts listed in paragraph (1) remain
substantially accurate today.
(3) The United States, which has the largest international
refugee resettlement program in the world, has resettled 212
North Koreans since the enactment of the North Korean Human
Rights Act of 2004.
(4) 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 people in the Korean-American
community have family ties to North Korea.
(5) Notwithstanding high-level advocacy by the United
States, South Korea, and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees, China has forcibly repatriated tens of thousands
of North Koreans.
(6) Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega served 25 years in
the House of Representatives, including as the Chairman and the
Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and
the Pacific, was a leader in strengthening the relationship
between the American and Korean peoples, authored multiple
resolutions regarding issues on the Korean Peninsula, was a
champion of human rights, and stated, in support of the
Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz
North Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012, that
``just as Ambassador Lilley and Congressman Solarz worked hard
to protect the human rights of the North Korean people, we must
remain vigilant in helping the people of North Korea who
struggle daily to escape the oppression and tyranny of the
North Korean regime''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States should continue to seek cooperation
from all foreign governments to allow the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees access to process North Korean
refugees overseas for resettlement and to allow United States
officials access to process refugees for resettlement in the
United States (if that is the destination country of the
refugees' choosing);
(2) the Secretary of State, through persistent diplomacy by
senior officials, including United States ambassadors to Asia-
Pacific countries, and in close cooperation with United States
ally South Korea, should make every effort to promote the
protection of North Korean refugees and defectors; and
(3) because North Koreans fleeing into China face a well-
founded fear of persecution upon their forcible repatriation,
the United States should urge China to--
(A) immediately halt the forcible repatriation of
North Koreans;
(B) allow the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees unimpeded access to North Koreans inside China
to determine whether such North Koreans require
protection as refugees; and
(C) fulfill its obligations under the 1951 United
Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,
the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees,
and the 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 (signed
December 1, 1995).
SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2004.
(a) Human Rights and Democracy Programs.--Paragraph (1) of section
102(b) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812(b))
is amended by striking ``2017'' and inserting ``2022''.
(b) Promoting Freedom of Information.--Section 104 of the North
Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814) is amended by striking
``2017'' in each place it appears and inserting ``2022''.
(c) Report by Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights.--
Subsection (d) of section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of
2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817) is amended by striking ``2017'' and inserting
``2022''.
(d) Report on Humanitarian Assistance.--Section 201 of the North
Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7831) is amended in the
matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ``2017'' and inserting
``2022''.
(e) Assistance Provided Outside of North Korea.--Paragraph (1) of
section 203(c) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C.
7833(c)) is amended by striking ``2017'' and inserting ``2022''.
(f) Annual Reporting.--Section 305 of the North Korean Human Rights
Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7845) is amended in the matter preceding
paragraph (1) by striking ``2017'' and inserting ``2022''.
SEC. 5. REPORT BY THE BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report that--
(1) describes the status of current United States
broadcasting to North Korea and the extent to which the Board
has achieved the goal of 12-hour-per-day broadcasting to North
Korea, in accordance with section 103(a) of the North Korean
Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7813(a)); and
(2) includes a strategy to overcome obstacles to such
communication with the North Korean people, including through
unrestricted, unmonitored, and inexpensive electronic means.
(b) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, the
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' has the meaning given
such term in section 5 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22
U.S.C. 7803).
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