[110th Congress Public Law 346]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[DOCID: f:publ346.110]
[[Page 122 STAT. 3939]]
Public Law 110-346
110th Congress
An Act
To amend the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to promote respect
for the fundamental human rights of the people of North Korea, and for
other purposes. <<NOTE: Oct. 7, 2008 - [H.R. 5834]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: North Korean
Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2008.>>
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7801 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``North Korean Human Rights
Reauthorization Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7801 note.>> 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.) (in this section referred to as
``the Act'') was the product of broad, bipartisan consensus in
Congress regarding the promotion of human rights, transparency
in the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and 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) Human rights and humanitarian conditions inside North
Korea are deplorable, North Korean refugees remain acutely
vulnerable, and the findings in section 3 of the Act remain
accurate today.
(4) The Government of China is conducting an increasingly
aggressive campaign to locate and forcibly return border-
crossers to North Korea, where they routinely face torture and
imprisonment, and sometimes execution. According to recent
reports, the Chinese Government is shutting down Christian
churches and imprisoning people who help North Korean defectors
and has increased the bounty paid for turning in North Korean
refugees.
(5) In an attempt to deter escape attempts, the Government
of North Korea has reportedly stepped up its public execution of
border-crossers and those who help others cross into China.
(6) In spite of the requirement of the Act that the Special
Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea (the ``Special Envoy'')
report to the Congress no later than April 16, 2005, a Special
Envoy was not appointed until August 19, 2005, more than four
months after the reporting deadline.
(7) The Special Envoy appointed by the President has filled
that position on a part-time basis only.
[[Page 122 STAT. 3940]]
(8) Since the passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act,
Congress has on several occasions expressed interest in the
status of North Korean refugees, and on February 21, 2006, a
bipartisan group of senior Members of the House and Senate wrote
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ``to express [their] deep
concern for the lack of progress in funding and implementing the
key provisions of the North Korean Human Rights Act'',
particularly the lack of North Korean refugee admissions to the
United States.
(9) Although the United States refugee resettlement program
remains the largest in the world by far, the United States has
resettled only 37 North Koreans in the period from 2004 through
2007.
(10) From the end of 2004 through 2007, the Republic of
Korea resettled 5,961 North Koreans.
(11) Extensive delays in assessment and processing have led
numerous North Korean refugees to abandon their quest for United
States resettlement, and long waits (of more than a year in some
cases) have been the source of considerable discouragement and
frustration among refugees, many of whom are awaiting United
States resettlement in circumstances that are unsafe and
insecure.
(12) From 2000 through 2006, the United States granted
asylum to 15 North Koreans, as compared to 60 North Korean
asylum grantees in the United Kingdom, and 135 in Germany during
that same period.
SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7801 note.>> SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States should continue to make it a priority
to seek broader permission and greater 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 nations;
(2) at the same time that careful screening of intending
refugees is important, the United States also should make every
effort to ensure that its screening, processing, and
resettlement of North Korean refugees are as efficient and
expeditious as possible;
(3) the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues
should be a full-time position within the Department of State in
order to properly promote and coordinate North Korean human
rights and humanitarian issues, and to participate in policy
planning and implementation with respect to refugee issues, as
intended by the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (Public
Law 108-333; 22 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.);
(4) in an effort to more efficiently and actively
participate in humanitarian burden-sharing, the United States
should approach our ally, the Republic of Korea, to revisit and
explore new opportunities for coordinating efforts to screen and
resettle North Koreans who have expressed a wish to pursue
resettlement in the United States and have not yet availed
themselves of any right to citizenship they may enjoy under the
Constitution of the Republic of Korea; and
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(5) 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 Government 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 they are refugees and
whether they require assistance.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
Section 5(1)(A) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
(Public Law 108-333; 22 U.S.C. 7803(1)(A)) is amended by striking
``International Relations'' and inserting ``Foreign Affairs''.
SEC. 5. 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 inserting after ``2008'' the following:
``and $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012''.
SEC. 6. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA.
<<NOTE: Deadline. Reports.>> 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. 7. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.
Section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C.
7814) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``2008'' and inserting
``2012''; and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``in each of the 3 years
thereafter'' and inserting ``annually through 2012''.
SEC. 8. SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.
Section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C.
7817) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``human rights in
north korea'' and inserting ``north korean human rights
issues'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the first sentence--
(i) by striking ``human rights in North
Korea'' and inserting ``North Korean human rights
issues''; and
[[Page 122 STAT. 3942]]
(ii) by inserting before the period at the end
the following: ``, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate'';
(B) in the second sentence, by inserting before the
period at the end the following: ``who shall have the
rank of ambassador and shall hold the office at the
pleasure of the President'';
(3) in subsection (b), by inserting before the period at the
end the following: ``, including, in coordination with the
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the protection of
those people who have fled as refugees'';
(4) in subsection (c)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as
paragraphs (2) through (7), respectively;
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so
redesignated, the following new paragraph:
``(1) participate in the formulation and the implementation
of activities carried out pursuant to this Act;''; and
(C) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by
striking ``section 102'' and inserting ``sections 102
and 104''; and
(5) in subsection (d), by striking ``for the subsequent 5
year-period'' and inserting ``thereafter through 2012''.
SEC. 9. 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 ``in each of the 2 years thereafter'' and inserting ``annually
thereafter through 2012''.
SEC. 10. 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 by striking ``2008'' and inserting
``2012''.
SEC. 11. ANNUAL REPORTS.
Section 305(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22
U.S.C. 7845(a)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``and Refugee''
before ``Information'';
(2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``for each of the following 5
years'' and inserting ``through 2012''; and
(B) by striking ``which shall include--'' and
inserting ``which shall include the following:'';
(3) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``the number of aliens'' and
inserting ``The number of aliens''; and
(B) by striking ``; and'' at the end and inserting a
period;
(4) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the number of aliens''
and inserting ``The number of aliens''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) A detailed description of the measures undertaken by
the Secretary of State to carry out section 303, including
country-specific information with respect to United States
efforts to secure the cooperation and permission of the
governments of countries in East and Southeast Asia to
facilitate United States processing of North Koreans seeking
protection
[[Page 122 STAT. 3943]]
as refugees. The information required under this paragraph shall
be provided in unclassified form, with a classified annex, if
necessary.''.
Approved October 7, 2008.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 5834:
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HOUSE REPORTS: No. 110-628 (Comm. on Foreign Affairs).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 154 (2008):
May 13, 15, considered and passed House.
Sept. 22, considered and passed Senate, amended.
Sept. 23, House concurred in Senate amendments.
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