[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 126, 112th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


Public Law 112-264
112th Congress

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

[[Page 2433]]

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

[[Page 2434]]

and other countries who are fleeing persecution or are living as
de jure or de facto stateless persons.

Approved January 14, 2013.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1464:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
Vol. 158 (2012):
Sept. 11, considered and passed
House.
Dec. 28, considered and passed
Senate, amended.
Vol. 158 (2013):
Jan. 1, House concurred in Senate
amendments.