[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 123 (Monday, October 4, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7981-H7986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2004
Mr. LEACH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 4011) to promote human rights
and freedom in the Democratic Republic of Korea, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``North Korean Human Rights
Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Purposes.
Sec. 5. Definitions.
TITLE I--PROMOTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF NORTH KOREANS
Sec. 101. Sense of Congress regarding negotiations with North Korea.
Sec. 102. Support for human rights and democracy programs.
Sec. 103. Radio broadcasting to North Korea.
Sec. 104. Actions to promote freedom of information.
Sec. 105. United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Sec. 106. Establishment of regional framework.
Sec. 107. Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea.
TITLE II--ASSISTING NORTH KOREANS IN NEED
Sec. 201. Report on United States humanitarian assistance.
Sec. 202. Assistance provided inside North Korea.
Sec. 203. Assistance provided outside of North Korea.
TITLE III--PROTECTING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES
Sec. 301. United States policy toward refugees and defectors.
Sec. 302. Eligibility for refugee or asylum consideration.
Sec. 303. Facilitating submission of applications for admission as a
refugee.
Sec. 304. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Sec. 305. Annual reports.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the Department of State, the Government of
North Korea is ``a dictatorship under the absolute rule of
Kim Jong Il'' that continues to commit numerous, serious
human rights abuses.
(2) The Government of North Korea attempts to control all
information, artistic expression, academic works, and media
activity inside North Korea and strictly curtails freedom of
speech and access to foreign broadcasts.
(3) The Government of North Korea subjects all its citizens
to systematic, intensive political and ideological
indoctrination in support of the cult of personality
glorifying Kim Jong Il and the late Kim Il Sung that
approaches the level of a state religion.
(4) The Government of North Korea divides its population
into categories, based on perceived loyalty to the
leadership, which determines access to food, employment,
higher education, place of residence, medical facilities, and
other resources.
(5) According to the Department of State, ``[t]he [North
Korean] Penal Code is [d]raconian, stipulating capital
punishment and confiscation of assets for a wide variety of
`crimes against the revolution,' including defection,
attempted defection, slander of the policies of the Party or
State, listening to foreign broadcasts, writing `reactionary'
letters, and possessing reactionary printed matter''.
(6) The Government of North Korea executes political
prisoners, opponents of the regime, some repatriated
defectors, some members of underground churches, and others,
sometimes at public meetings attended by workers, students,
and schoolchildren.
(7) The Government of North Korea holds an estimated
200,000 political prisoners in camps that its State Security
Agency manages through the use of forced labor, beatings,
torture, and executions, and in which many prisoners also die
from disease, starvation, and exposure.
(8) According to eyewitness testimony provided to the
United States Congress by North Korean camp survivors, camp
inmates have been used as sources of slave labor for the
production of export goods, as targets for martial arts
practice, and as experimental victims in the testing of
chemical and biological poisons.
(9) According to credible reports, including eyewitness
testimony provided to the United States Congress, North
Korean Government officials prohibit live births in prison
camps, and forced abortion and the killing of newborn babies
are standard prison practices.
[[Page H7982]]
(10) According to the Department of State, ``[g]enuine
religious freedom does not exist in North Korea'' and,
according to the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom, ``[t]he North Korean state severely
represses public and private religious activities'' with
penalties that reportedly include arrest, imprisonment,
torture, and sometimes execution.
(11) More than 2,000,000 North Koreans are estimated to
have died of starvation since the early 1990s because of the
failure of the centralized agricultural and public
distribution systems operated by the Government of North
Korea.
(12) According to a 2002 United Nations-European Union
survey, nearly one out of every ten children in North Korea
suffers from acute malnutrition and four out of every ten
children in North Korea are chronically malnourished.
(13) Since 1995, the United States has provided more than
2,000,000 tons of humanitarian food assistance to the people
of North Korea, primarily through the World Food Program.
(14) Although United States food assistance has undoubtedly
saved many North Korean lives and there have been minor
improvements in transparency relating to the distribution of
such assistance in North Korea, the Government of North Korea
continues to deny the World Food Program forms of access
necessary to properly monitor the delivery of food aid,
including the ability to conduct random site visits, the use
of native Korean-speaking employees, and travel access
throughout North Korea.
(15) The risk of starvation, the threat of persecution, and
the lack of freedom and opportunity in North Korea have
caused large numbers, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of
North Koreans to flee their homeland, primarily into China.
(16) North Korean women and girls, particularly those who
have fled into China, are at risk of being kidnapped,
trafficked, and sexually exploited inside China, where many
are sold as brides or concubines, or forced to work as
prostitutes.
(17) The Governments of China and North Korea have been
conducting aggressive campaigns to locate North Koreans who
are in China without permission and to forcibly return them
to North Korea, where they routinely face torture and
imprisonment, and sometimes execution.
(18) Despite China's obligations as a party to the 1951
United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees,
China routinely classifies North Koreans seeking asylum in
China as mere ``economic migrants'' and returns them to North
Korea without regard to the serious threat of persecution
they face upon their return.
(19) The Government of China does not provide North Koreans
whose asylum requests are rejected a right to have the
rejection reviewed prior to deportation despite its
obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating
to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to
the Status of Refugees.
(20) North Koreans who seek asylum while in China are
routinely imprisoned and tortured, and in some cases killed,
after they are returned to North Korea.
(21) The Government of China has detained, convicted, and
imprisoned foreign aid workers attempting to assist North
Korean refugees in proceedings that did not comply with
Chinese law or international standards.
(22) In January 2000, North Korean agents inside China
allegedly abducted the Reverend Kim Dong-shik, a United
States permanent resident and advocate for North Korean
refugees, whose condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
(23) Between 1994 and 2003, South Korea has admitted
approximately 3,800 North Korean refugees for domestic
resettlement, a number that is small in comparison with the
total number of North Korean escapees but far greater than
the number legally admitted in any other country.
(24) Although the principal responsibility for North Korean
refugee resettlement naturally falls to the Government of
South Korea, the United States should play a leadership role
in focusing international attention on the plight of these
refugees, and formulating international solutions to that
profound humanitarian dilemma.
(25) In addition to infringing the rights of its own
citizens, the Government of North Korea has been responsible
in years past for the abduction of numerous citizens of South
Korea and Japan, whose condition and whereabouts remain
unknown.
SEC. 4. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to promote respect for and protection of fundamental
human rights in North Korea;
(2) to promote a more durable humanitarian solution to the
plight of North Korean refugees;
(3) to promote increased monitoring, access, and
transparency in the provision of humanitarian assistance
inside North Korea;
(4) to promote the free flow of information into and out of
North Korea; and
(5) to promote progress toward the peaceful reunification
of the Korean peninsula under a democratic system of
government.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on International Relations of the House
of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(2) China.--The term ``China'' means the People's Republic
of China.
(3) Humanitarian assistance.--The term ``humanitarian
assistance'' means assistance to meet humanitarian needs,
including needs for food, medicine, medical supplies,
clothing, and shelter.
(4) North korea.--The term ``North Korea'' means the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
(5) North koreans.--The term ``North Koreans'' means
persons who are citizens or nationals of North Korea.
(6) South korea.--The term ``South Korea'' means the
Republic of Korea.
TITLE I--PROMOTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF NORTH KOREANS
SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEGOTIATIONS WITH NORTH
KOREA.
It is the sense of Congress that the human rights of North
Koreans should remain a key element in future negotiations
between the United States, North Korea, and other concerned
parties in Northeast Asia.
SEC. 102. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS.
(a) Support.--The President is authorized to provide grants
to private, nonprofit organizations to support programs that
promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, and the
development of a market economy in North Korea. Such programs
may include appropriate educational and cultural exchange
programs with North Korean participants, to the extent not
otherwise prohibited by law.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the President $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005
through 2008 to carry out this section.
(2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are
authorized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 103. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the United States should facilitate the unhindered
dissemination of information in North Korea by increasing its
support for radio broadcasting to North Korea, and that the
Broadcasting Board of Governors should increase broadcasts to
North Korea from current levels, with a goal of providing 12-
hour-per-day broadcasting to North Korea, including
broadcasts by Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.
(b) Report.--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
(2) outlines a plan for increasing such broadcasts to 12
hours per day, including a detailed description of the
technical and fiscal requirements necessary to implement the
plan.
SEC. 104. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.
(a) Actions.--The President is authorized to take such
actions as may be necessary to increase the availability of
information inside North Korea by increasing the availability
of sources of information not controlled by the Government of
North Korea, including sources such as radios capable of
receiving broadcasting from outside North Korea.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the President $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005
through 2008 to carry out subsection (a).
(2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are
authorized to remain available until expended.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and in each of the 3 years thereafter,
the Secretary of State, after consultation with the heads of
other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report,
in classified form, on actions taken pursuant to this
section.
SEC. 105. UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United Nations has a
significant role to play in promoting and improving human
rights in North Korea, and that--
(1) the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)
has taken positive steps by adopting Resolution 2003/10 and
Resolution 2004/13 on the situation of human rights in North
Korea, and particularly by requesting the appointment of a
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North
Korea; and
(2) the severe human rights violations within North Korea
warrant country-specific attention and reporting by the
United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the
Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary
Executions, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the
Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the
Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Special
Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Special
Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.
SEC. 106. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL FRAMEWORK.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds that human rights
initiatives can be undertaken on a multilateral basis, such
as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), which established a regional framework for discussing
human rights, scientific and educational cooperation, and
economic and trade issues.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the United Sates should explore the possibility of a regional
human rights dialogue with North Korea that is modeled on the
Helsinki process, engaging all countries in the region in a
common commitment to respect human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
[[Page H7983]]
SEC. 107. SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA.
(a) Special Envoy.--The President shall appoint a special
envoy for human rights in North Korea within the Department
of State (hereafter in this section referred to as the
``Special Envoy''). The Special Envoy should be a person of
recognized distinction in the field of human rights.
(b) Central Objective.--The central objective of the
Special Envoy is to coordinate and promote efforts to improve
respect for the fundamental human rights of the people of
North Korea.
(c) Duties and Responsibilities.--The Special Envoy shall--
(1) engage in discussions with North Korean officials
regarding human rights;
(2) support international efforts to promote human rights
and political freedoms in North Korea, including coordination
and dialogue between the United States and the United
Nations, the European Union, North Korea, and the other
countries in Northeast Asia;
(3) consult with non-governmental organizations who have
attempted to address human rights in North Korea;
(4) make recommendations regarding the funding of
activities authorized in section 102;
(5) review strategies for improving protection of human
rights in North Korea, including technical training and
exchange programs; and
(6) develop an action plan for supporting implementation of
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Resolution
2004/13.
(d) Report on Activities.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually for the
subsequent 5 year-period, the Special Envoy shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report on the
activities undertaken in the preceding 12 months under
subsection (c).
TITLE II--ASSISTING NORTH KOREANS IN NEED
SEC. 201. REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
(a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and in each of the 2 years thereafter,
the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, in conjunction with the Secretary
of State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that describes--
(1) all activities to provide humanitarian assistance
inside North Korea, and to North Koreans outside of North
Korea, that receive United States funding;
(2) any improvements in humanitarian transparency,
monitoring, and access inside North Korea during the previous
1-year period, including progress toward meeting the
conditions identified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of
section 202(b); and
(3) specific efforts to secure improved humanitarian
transparency, monitoring, and access inside North Korea made
by the United States and United States grantees, including
the World Food Program, during the previous 1-year period.
(b) Form.--The information required by subsection (a)(1)
may be provided in classified form if necessary.
SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED INSIDE NORTH KOREA.
(a) Humanitarian Assistance Through Nongovernmental and
International Organizations.--It is the sense of the Congress
that--
(1) at the same time that Congress supports the provision
of humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea on
humanitarian grounds, such assistance also should be provided
and monitored so as to minimize the possibility that such
assistance could be diverted to political or military use,
and to maximize the likelihood that it will reach the most
vulnerable North Koreans;
(2) significant increases above current levels of United
States support for humanitarian assistance provided inside
North Korea should be conditioned upon substantial
improvements in transparency, monitoring, and access to
vulnerable populations throughout North Korea; and
(3) the United States should encourage other countries that
provide food and other humanitarian assistance to North Korea
to do so through monitored, transparent channels, rather than
through direct, bilateral transfers to the Government of
North Korea.
(b) United States Assistance to the Government of North
Korea.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) United States humanitarian assistance to any
department, agency, or entity of the Government of North
Korea shall--
(A) be delivered, distributed, and monitored according to
internationally recognized humanitarian standards;
(B) be provided on a needs basis, and not used as a
political reward or tool of coercion;
(C) reach the intended beneficiaries, who should be
informed of the source of the assistance; and
(D) be made available to all vulnerable groups in North
Korea, no matter where in the country they may be located;
and
(2) United States nonhumanitarian assistance to North Korea
shall be contingent on North Korea's substantial progress
toward--
(A) respect for the basic human rights of the people of
North Korea, including freedom of religion;
(B) providing for family reunification between North
Koreans and their descendants and relatives in the United
States;
(C) fully disclosing all information regarding citizens of
Japan and the Republic of Korea abducted by the Government of
North Korea;
(D) allowing such abductees, along with their families,
complete and genuine freedom to leave North Korea and return
to the abductees' original home countries;
(E) reforming the North Korean prison and labor camp
system, and subjecting such reforms to independent
international monitoring; and
(F) decriminalizing political expression and activity.
(c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Agency for
International Development shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report describing compliance with
this section.
SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH KOREA.
(a) Assistance.--The President is authorized to provide
assistance to support organizations or persons that provide
humanitarian assistance to North Koreans who are outside of
North Korea without the permission of the Government of North
Korea.
(b) Types of Assistance.--Assistance provided under
subsection (a) should be used to provide--
(1) humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees,
defectors, migrants, and orphans outside of North Korea,
which may include support for refugee camps or temporary
settlements; and
(2) humanitarian assistance to North Korean women outside
of North Korea who are victims of trafficking, as defined in
section 103(14) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(14)), or are in danger of being
trafficked.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--In addition to funds otherwise available
for such purposes, there are authorized to be appropriated to
the President $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005
through 2008 to carry out this section.
(2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are
authorized to remain available until expended.
TITLE III--PROTECTING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES
SEC. 301. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD REFUGEES AND DEFECTORS.
(a) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal
departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees and the Committees on the Judiciary
of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report that
describes the situation of North Korean refugees and explains
United States Government policy toward North Korean nationals
outside of North Korea.
(b) Contents.--The report shall include--
(1) an assessment of the circumstances facing North Korean
refugees and migrants in hiding, particularly in China, and
of the circumstances they face if forcibly returned to North
Korea;
(2) an assessment of whether North Koreans in China have
effective access to personnel of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, and of whether the Government of
China is fulfilling its obligations under the 1951 Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees, particularly Articles 31,
32, and 33 of such Convention;
(3) an assessment of whether North Koreans presently have
unobstructed access to United States refugee and asylum
processing, and of United States policy toward North Koreans
who may present themselves at United States embassies or
consulates and request protection as refugees or asylum
seekers and resettlement in the United States;
(4) the total number of North Koreans who have been
admitted into the United States as refugees or asylees in
each of the past five years;
(5) an estimate of the number of North Koreans with family
connections to United States citizens; and
(6) a description of the measures that the Secretary of
State is taking to carry out section 303.
(c) Form.--The information required by paragraphs (1)
through (5) of subsection (b) shall be provided in
unclassified form. All or part of the information required by
subsection (b)(6) may be provided in classified form, if
necessary.
SEC. 302. ELIGIBILITY FOR REFUGEE OR ASYLUM CONSIDERATION.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to clarify
that North Koreans are not barred from eligibility for
refugee status or asylum in the United States on account of
any legal right to citizenship they may enjoy under the
Constitution of the Republic of Korea. It is not intended in
any way to prejudice whatever rights to citizenship North
Koreans may enjoy under the Constitution of the Republic of
Korea, or to apply to former North Korean nationals who have
availed themselves of those rights.
(b) Treatment of Nationals of North Korea.--For purposes of
eligibility for refugee status under section 207 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), or for
asylum under section 208 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1158), a
national of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shall
not be considered a national of the Republic of Korea.
SEC. 303. FACILITATING SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS FOR
ADMISSION AS A REFUGEE.
The Secretary of State shall undertake to facilitate the
submission of applications under section 207 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) by citizens
of North Korea seeking protection as refugees (as defined in
section 101(a)(42) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)).
SEC. 304. UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES.
(a) Actions in China.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Government of China has obligated itself to provide
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
with
[[Page H7984]]
unimpeded access to North Koreans inside its borders to
enable the UNHCR to determine whether they are refugees and
whether they require assistance, pursuant to the 1951 United
Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the
1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and Article
III, paragraph 5 of 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 (referred to
in this section as the ``UNHCR Mission Agreement'');
(2) the United States, other UNHCR donor governments, and
UNHCR should persistently and at the highest levels continue
to urge the Government of China to abide by its previous
commitments to allow UNHCR unimpeded access to North Korean
refugees inside China;
(3) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out its
mandate to protect refugees, should liberally employ as
professionals or Experts on Mission persons with significant
experience in humanitarian assistance work among displaced
North Koreans in China;
(4) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out its
mandate to protect refugees, should liberally contract with
appropriate nongovernmental organizations that have a proven
record of providing humanitarian assistance to displaced
North Koreans in China;
(5) the UNHCR should pursue a multilateral agreement to
adopt an effective ``first asylum'' policy that guarantees
safe haven and assistance to North Korean refugees; and
(6) should the Government of China begin actively
fulfilling its obligations toward North Korean refugees, all
countries, including the United States, and relevant
international organizations should increase levels of
humanitarian assistance provided inside China to help defray
costs associated with the North Korean refugee presence.
(b) Arbitration Proceedings.--It is further the sense of
Congress that--
(1) if the Government of China continues to refuse to
provide the UNHCR with access to North Koreans within its
borders, the UNHCR should initiate arbitration proceedings
pursuant to Article XVI of the UNHCR Mission Agreement and
appoint an arbitrator for the UNHCR; and
(2) because access to refugees is essential to the UNHCR
mandate and to the purpose of a UNHCR branch office, a
failure to assert those arbitration rights in present
circumstances would constitute a significant abdication by
the UNHCR of one of its core responsibilities.
SEC. 305. ANNUAL REPORTS.
(a) Immigration Information.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 12 months
thereafter for each of the following 5 years, the Secretary
of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit
a joint report to the appropriate congressional committees
and the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and the Senate on the operation of this title
during the previous year, which shall include--
(1) the number of aliens who are nationals or citizens of
North Korea who applied for political asylum and the number
who were granted political asylum; and
(2) the number of aliens who are nationals or citizens of
North Korea who applied for refugee status and the number who
were granted refugee status.
(b) Countries of Particular Concern.--The President shall
include in each annual report on proposed refugee admission
pursuant to section 207(d) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(d)), information about specific measures
taken to facilitate access to the United States refugee
program for individuals who have fled countries of particular
concern for violations of religious freedom, identified
pursuant to section 402(b) of the International Religious
Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)). The report shall
include, for each country of particular concern, a
description of access of the nationals or former habitual
residents of that country to a refugee determination on the
basis of--
(1) referrals by external agencies to a refugee
adjudication;
(2) groups deemed to be of special humanitarian concern to
the United States for purposes of refugee resettlement; and
(3) family links to the United States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach).
General Leave
Mr. LEACH. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks on H.R. 4011.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Iowa?
There was no objection.
Mr. LEACH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4011, the North Korean Human
Rights Act of 2004. As approved unanimously by the Senate last week,
the bill contains three modest changes from the text passed by this
body in July. First it expresses the sense of Congress that the United
States should explore the possibility of a regional dialogue on human
rights with North Korea. Second, it mandates the appointment of a
special envoy on human rights in North Korea within the State
Department. Finally, it enhances the discretion of the executive branch
by recasting conditions on assistance to the North Korean government as
a sense of Congress provision.
I deeply appreciate the efforts of the Senate to ensure that the
108th Congress speaks with a unanimous, bipartisan voice on these
issues of shared concern. In this connection, I would like to express
my particular gratitude to Senators Brownback, Bayh, Lugar, Biden and
their capable staff members.
During the past 2\1/2\ years, the Subcommittee on Asia and the
Pacific has received testimony from a number of North Koreans who have
survived some of the gravest rigors of the human condition. Their
accounts buttress the growing awareness that the people of North Korea
have endured some of the most acute humanitarian traumas of our time.
Inside North Korea they suffer at the hands of a totalitarian dynasty
that permits no dissent and strictly curtails freedoms of speech,
press, religion, and assembly. The regime maintains a brutal system of
prison camps that house an estimated 200,000 political inmates who are
subjected to slave labor, torture, and even lethal chemical
experimentation. Since the collapse of the centralized agricultural
system in the 1990s, more than 2 million North Koreans are estimated to
have died of starvation.
North Koreans outside of North Korea are also uniquely vulnerable.
Many thousands are hiding inside China, which currently refuses to
allow the U.N. High Commissioner For Refugees to evaluate and identify
genuine refugees among the North Korea migrant population. China
forcibly returns North Koreans to North Korea, where they routinely
face imprisonment, torture, and sometimes execution. Inside China,
North Korean women and girls are particularly vulnerable to trafficking
and sexual exploitation.
Provoked by these crises, this broadly bipartisan legislation aims to
promote international cooperation on human rights and refugee
protection and increased transparency in the provision of humanitarian
assistance to the people of North Korea.
On the human rights front, this bill underscores the importance of
human rights issues in future negotiations with North Korea. It
authorizes funds for programs to promote human rights, democracy, rule
of law, market economy, and freedom of information. It also urges
additional North Korea-specific attention by appropriate U.N. human
rights authorities.
On the humanitarian front, the bill authorizes increased funding for
assistance to North Koreans outside of North Korea, including refugees,
orphans, and trafficking victims. It endorses but also seeks greater
transparency for the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid inside North
Korea. Finally, it outlines human rights and humanitarian principles
that should govern future direct aid to the North Korean government.
In terms of refugee protection, the bill requires a formal
clarification of U.S. policy and affirms the eligibility of North
Koreans to seek protection as refugees under United States law. It also
urges the U.N. High Commissioner For Refugees to use all available
means to gain access to North Koreans in China.
Although the principal responsibility for North Korean refugee
resettlement naturally falls with the government of South Korea, the
United States should play a leadership role in focusing international
attention on the plight of these refugees in formulating shared
international solutions to their profound humanitarian dilemma.
I wanted to remove any misapprehension that overseas audiences may
have about the intent, content, or motives behind this bill.
Unequivocally, I would state this legislation is a purely humanitarian
endeavor. There are no hidden agendas related to geostrategic concerns
and strategies. Indeed, the committee of jurisdiction is deeply
indebted to the concerns expressed by thousands of American citizens of
Korean descent, who are convinced that for too long the international
community has largely ignored the plight of their brethren in the
north.
As explained in the report of the Committee on International
Relations:
[[Page H7985]]
``H.R. 4011 is motivated by a genuine desire for improvements in human
rights, refugee protection and humanitarian transparency.
{time} 1915
``It is not a pretext for a hidden strategy to provoke regime
collapse or to seek collateral advantage in ongoing strategic
negotiations. While the legislation highlights numerous egregious
abuses, the Congress remains willing to recognize progress in the
future, and hopes for such an opportunity.''
Similarly, with regard to China, this bill is not solely critical; it
is also aspirational. It makes clear that the United States and the
international community stand ready to provide more assistance to help
defray the costs associated with North Korean migrant presence when
China begins fulfilling its obligations as a party to the 1951 U.N.
Refugee Convention. We genuinely hope for that opportunity.
I would like to thank my colleagues for their strong bipartisan
endorsement of this bill. I also would like to thank the many
nongovernmental and civic organizations who have informed and supported
this legislation. In this regard, the pivotal efforts of the North
Korea Freedom Coalition, a group of more than 40 nonpartisan NGOs,
deserves particular mention.
Finally, I would like to note the particular contributions of Senator
Sam Brownback, whose leadership in the other body has inspired House
action on this issue. And in this body, the attention and insight of
the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from American
Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman),
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman), and the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Wexler) on the Democratic side, and the gentleman from
California (Mr. Cox), the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), and
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) on this side of the aisle are
deeply appreciated.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 4011 is a responsible, creative approach to an
ongoing human rights tragedy and deserves our unanimous support.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WEXLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I strongly support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do
so as well.
I would first like to commend my good friend, the gentleman from Iowa
(Mr. Leach), for his introduction of the North Korean Human Rights Act,
and the gentleman from American Samoa (Ranking Member Faleomavaega) for
his hard work on the bill as well.
Madam Speaker, United States policy towards North Korea has been a
principal focus of American policymakers for over a decade. Both
Republican and Democratic administrations have actively sought to
encourage the North Korean leadership to end its nuclear and missile
programs and to end its destabilizing influence in the northeast Asian
region.
But as the United States attempts to encourage North Korea to give up
its weapons of mass destruction and to establish positive relationships
with the United States, Japan, South Korea, and China, we have paid
insufficient attention to the horrendous human rights situation in
North Korea and the desperate humanitarian crisis caused by the North
Korean misrule.
Madam Speaker, the legislation before the House will correct this
imbalance. The North Korean Human Rights Act will press the
administration to actively pursue a human rights and humanitarian
agenda with North Korea, as we also attempt to resolve our security
differences with the North.
According to the annual State Department Human Rights Report, North
Korea is one of the world's worst human rights abusers. Over the past
decade, millions of North Korean citizens starved to death because of
their own government's gross incompetence, while the North Korean
leadership lived a luxurious life in their tucked-away villas. The
North Korean gulags, furthermore, overflow with North Korean prisoners
with no hope of release.
North Korea does not hold free and fair elections, and there is no
freedom of the press. North Korean citizens do not have the right to
speak out against their government or to practice a religion.
In short, Madam Speaker, the North Korean people have no hope of
changing their government unless the United States and other world
democracies stand up for freedom in North Korea.
This important legislation will also help focus attention on the
large number of North Korean refugees that have been created by the
North's misrule, particularly those refugees in China. It is critically
important that the U.N. High Commissioner For Refugees have access to
this floating population and that the North Korean refugees be treated
appropriately.
Madam Speaker, the legislation before the House tackles all of these
important subjects. It will direct that human rights remain on the
negotiation table with the North. It demands better accountability for
international food aid to North Korea. It encourages a solution on the
North Korean refugee issue with China, and it attempts to increase
American broadcasting in North Korea.
This bill is an excellent piece of legislation, and I strongly
support its passage.
Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. LEACH. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is the House's great leader
on human rights issues.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me this time.
I want to rise and really pay tribute to the leadership of the
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) in bringing this legislation not just
to the floor today, but to what will be its ultimate enactment into
law. I thank the gentleman for his leadership on human rights in North
Korea, as well as human rights in the Asian Pacific region. The
gentleman has been a stalwart and a real leader, and this is just
another important product of that work; and I, and I know many others,
are very grateful for his leadership.
This bill is the culmination of a concerted bipartisan effort to act
against the unspeakable cruelties occurring under the Kim Jong Il
regime. In this regard, I want to commend the efforts as well of the
North Korean Freedom Coalition which sponsored, as many Members know,
the historic North Korea Freedom Day rally in Washington on April 28,
as well as the Korean-American Church Coalition, which built strong
support for this bill out in the grass-roots.
Madam Speaker, since the mid-1990s, as many as 2 million North
Koreans have died because of failed North Korean economic policies.
Despite the loss of nearly 10 percent of the country's population to a
man-made famine, Kim Jong Il's regime uses food as a weapon to control
its population by rewarding loyalty and withholding food from enemies
of the regime. In North Korean society the entire population is divided
into three class labels assigned on the basis of loyalty to the regime:
``core,'' ``wavering,'' and ``hostile.'' These labels continue to be
used to prioritize access to jobs, region of residence, and entitlement
to items distributed through the Public Distribution System.
Humanitarian relief organizations such as the U.N. World Food Program
are prohibited by North Korea from distributing food and relief
supplies directly to starving victims. Instead, the brutal dictatorship
siphons off food aid and gives it to the Communist leadership and to
the Army. H.R. 4011 authorizes increased funding for assistance for
North Korean refugees, orphans, and trafficking victims outside of
North Korea and conditions additional humanitarian assistance inside
North Korea upon significant improvements in transparency and
monitoring. It is the sense of Congress that future assistance to North
Korea should be prohibited unless the government ensures that
internationally recognized human rights standards are met and Pyongyang
makes substantial progress towards respecting basic human rights such
as decriminalizing political expression, providing for family
reunification, and reform of its prison camp system.
Madam Speaker, North Korea's human rights abuses, as we now know, are
a nightmare of epic proportions. Its regime restricts every basic
freedom of its people. It attempts to control all information,
brainwashes citizens into
[[Page H7986]]
following a cult of personality, and threatens international security
through the reckless use of its nuclear weapons program. President Bush
was clearly correct in labeling North Korea as a nation as part of the
``axis of evil.''
An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 political prisoners in North Korea
are held in camps where they are subjected to torture, forced labor,
starvation, and execution. Prisoners in these camps include thousands
who attempted to flee the country to avoid starvation, but were
returned to North Korea, regrettably, by the Chinese. Eye witnesses
from these camps have testified before a hearing that the gentleman
from Iowa (Chairman Leach) held on the subcommittee and told us
horrific stories of savage torture, forced abortions, and persecution
of Christians. Mothers have seen their newborn children killed right in
front of their very eyes by North Korean prison guards.
Madam Speaker, H.R. 4011 also provides additional support and
protection for the courageous North Koreans who have been able to
escape by clarifying that North Koreans are eligible to apply for U.S.
refugee and asylum consideration, and designating North Koreans who
have been persecuted or mistreated by the North Koreans as a priority 2
group of special humanitarian concern to the United States. H.R. 4011
also underscores China's obligation to provide UNHCR with access to
North Koreans in China and urges the UNHCR to assert its right to
arbitration with China in an effort to secure access to North Koreans
in China.
This is a very, very important human rights bill. Again, I want to
commend the chairman for his extraordinary leadership in bringing it to
the body today.
Mr. LEACH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
In conclusion, let me just stress as strongly as I can that the
regime in North Korea is one of the most difficult in the world.
Economically, it is based upon the selling of weapons, the selling of
drugs, and the selling of counterfeit money. We would like what is best
for the North Korean people, that is, the possibility that this regime
can come into this new century in a way that is acceptable in behavior
to the international community and, therefore, in a manner that gives
hope and prosperity to the North Korean people.
We would like a rogue state that, quite frankly, is partly a criminal
state, to become a civilized community. But we have nothing in this
bill that is aimed at doing anything except providing incentives for a
regime to do better and for a society to be better off. With that
emphasis on a humanitarian goal, not a geo-strategic one, a
humanitarian one, we urge the greatest possible support from this body
and for a new policy and a new kind of era for United States and North
Korean relations.
Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4011, the North
Korea Human Rights Act, of which I am an original cosponsor.
I would like to commend the gentleman from Iowa, Mr. Leach, and thank
the leadership for expeditiously bringing this bill to the floor.
Madam Speaker, the House passed this legislation unanimously in July.
Last week, the other body passed this bill with minor changes. With its
passage today, this important piece of legislation heads to the
President's desk.
This legislation has been years in the making. In May 2002, the Asia
Subcommittee held the first of our hearings that have focused on the
humanitarian plight in North Korea. At this hearing and others, our
committee heard testimony from North Korean defectors. As Chairman of
the US-Republic of Korea Interparliamentary Exchange, I have led
Congressional delegations to Seoul where we have met with defectors
lucky enough to escape the regime of Kim Jong Il. Here we heard first-
hand accounts of the brutal conditions that face the average North
Korean--where the regime apportions and withholds food based on
perceived citizen loyalty to Kim Jong Il. These meetings and hearings
have helped to lay the foundation for this legislation.
Madam Speaker, much has been made about the best way to approach
North Korea, which poses a nuclear threat. I believe that there is a
strong consensus to bring about change in North Korea. This legislation
makes it clear that human rights conditions in North Korea should
remain a key element in future negotiations between the United States,
North Korea, and other concerned parties in Northeast Asia.
In order to ensure his survival, Kim Jong Il tries to keep an iron
grip on all information in North Korea. U.S. backed Radio Free Asia is
working to counter Kim Jong Il's propaganda, bringing objective news to
the North Korean people. Surveys indicate that North Korean defectors
are listening to RFA's broadcasts. A former North Korean military
officer tells the story of one official shouting to another during a
policy debate, ``You . . . must listen to [the] radio coming from the
outside world! Then you will know that we have been living like frogs
in a well! [with blinders on].''
That is why this bill calls for an increase of radio broadcasts into
North Korea to twelve hours per day. And because of the problem of
access to suitable radios in North Korea, the legislation requests a
report detailing the steps the U.S. government is taking to increase
the availability of information inside North Korea--including the
provision of radios. This should maximize North Koreans access to
foreign broadcasts like Radio Free Asia. The stakes couldn't be higher.
We are talking about helping to free people and by doing so, improving
our security.
This legislation is a responsible initiative to promote human rights,
refugee protection, and increased transparency in the delivery of
humanitarian aid to the North Korean people. It deserves our support.
Mr. LEACH. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Blackburn). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) that the House
suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 4011.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was
concurred in.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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