[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 48 (Thursday, April 27, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S3695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NORTH KOREA FREEDOM DAY

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, this week the North Korean Freedom 
Coalition, a bipartisan coalition of NGOs and individuals, will be 
organizing a rally on Capitol Hill at noon on Friday, April 28, 2006, 
in recognition of North Korea Freedom Day.
  Largely through the persistent efforts of the coalition and many 
others across the country, there has been an upsurge of interest in 
North Korea with Americans and particularly the faith communities. 
Members of Congress, North Korean defectors, NGO leaders from the USA, 
South Korea, and Japan have been holding rallies, testifying before 
Congress, and personally sharing their stories with others and the 
press to help support the plight of North Koreans and, in particular, 
the refugees in China and elsewhere. Thousands will gather to stand up 
for the freedom, human rights, and dignity of the North Korean people.
  Since the Stalinist country disclosed several years ago that it had 
renewed efforts to develop nuclear weapons, not a single day goes by 
without Pyongyang carrying out more reckless deeds to escalate the 
crisis or exchanging hostile threats with Washington, DC. With the six-
party talks dissolving without any progress, the current nuclear 
standoff seems poised to continue, if not deteriorate. Many people 
point out, and correctly so, the need for more scholarship on the 
nuclear threat that North Korea poses not only to East Asia but also to 
the world.
  The sad truth, however, is that amid the discussion of regional 
security and nuclear nonproliferation for South Korea, Japan, and 
China, as well as the war against terrorism for the United States, a 
central part of this issue has been neglected: the human rights of 
North Koreans.
  It is hard to imagine a country whose citizens endure a worse or more 
pervasive abuse of every human right. The Government prohibits freedoms 
of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, movement, and more. 
The draconian penal code stipulates capital punishment and confiscation 
of assets for a wide variety of ``crimes against revolution,'' 
including defection, attempted defection, slander of the policies of 
the state, listening to foreign broadcasts, and possessing 
``reactionary'' printed matter.
  Those who escaped political concentration camps tell stories of 
horror beyond imagination. Prison guards kill newborn babies in front 
of their mothers. A female prisoner dies after being beaten by prison 
guards like a soccer ball, with her wounds filled with maggots. Molten 
metal is poured on Christians who refuse to disavow their faith. The 
open goal of these camps, detaining political dissidents whose loyalty 
to the party is ``beyond recovery,'' is to eradicate three generations 
of their inmates. An estimated 1.5 million prisoners have been killed 
in the camps. Approximately 200,000 are currently imprisoned.
  Those who risk their lives and succeed in escaping to China to find 
food and freedom are not better off. The Chinese Government continues 
to violate refugees' rights and repatriates them to North Korea, where 
they will most likely face persecution; North Korean refugees are 
exploited by those around them who threaten to report them to the 
authorities. The sexual slavery of North Korean refugee women in China 
is an urgent human rights issue that has yet to attract the attention 
of the international community.
  In 2004, Congress passed and the President signed into law the North 
Korean Human Rights Act. Since passage, much has been done and various 
provisions of the bill have been implemented. However, much more 
remains to be done, especially in fully funding the authorization 
contained in the bill. I ask that reports from State Department 
required by the Act be submitted to Congress. More importantly, it is 
absolutely critical that we allow North Korean refugees seeking refuge 
in the United States to be allowed to do so as per the provisions of 
the act and appropriate vetting processes. Nothing we do--not even 
funding--will produce more tangible results of improving the human 
rights of North Koreans than this gesture that is a long and hallowed 
part of our history and tradition. We are a nation that welcomes those 
facing persecution because we not only believe but practice the 
principal that ``to whom much is given, much is required.''
  As the security concerns dominate headlines of all United States and 
international news media, the sufferings of 22 million North Koreans 
are missing from public awareness. It is in recognizing this desperate 
need for more awareness of the North Korean human rights that the 
coalition is organizing this timely and important event this week.
  North Korean Human Rights Week will provide an opportunity for us to 
learn more about this tragedy that is occurring right this minute. I 
commend the organizers of the week, especially the members of the North 
Korean Freedom Coalition and its many volunteers who have given so much 
of their time in preparing for this important event.
  It is time to shake ourselves off of shocked disbelief. And it is 
time to break out of apathy and ignorance and stand up for human rights 
in North Korea.

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