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[112th Congress Public Law 264]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]

[[Page 2431]]

                     NORTH KOREAN CHILD WELFARE ACT 
                                 OF 2012

[[Page 126 STAT. 2432]]

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. <<NOTE: Jan. 14, 2013 -  [H.R. 1464]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: North Korean 
Child Welfare Act of 2012. 22 USC 7801 note.>> 
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. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7834 note.>> 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. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7834.>> BRIEFINGS ON THE WELFARE OF NORTH 
                    KOREAN CHILDREN.

    (a) <<NOTE: Designation.>>  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 126 STAT. 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 126 STAT. 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:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

                                  <all>
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