I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2061 

To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 6, 2017 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. YOHO, and Mr. SHERMAN) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

2004, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Korean Human 

5 Rights Reauthorization Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The North Korean Human Rights Act of 

9 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.), the North Korean 

10 Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Public 


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1 Law 110–346), and the Ambassador James R. 

2 Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North 

3 Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012 

4 (Public Law 112–172) were the products of broad, 

5 bipartisan consensus regarding the promotion of 

6 human rights, transparency in the delivery of hu7 manitarian assistance, and the importance of refugee 

8 protection. 

9 (2) Fundamental human rights and humani10 tarian conditions inside North Korea remain deplor11 able, North Korean refugees remain acutely vulner12 able, and the congressional findings included in the 

13 Acts listed in paragraph (1) remain substantially ac14 curate today. 

15 (3) The United States, which has the largest 

16 international refugee resettlement program in the 

17 world, has resettled 212 North Koreans since the en18 actment of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 

19 2004. 

20 (4) In addition to the longstanding commitment 

21 of the United States to refugee and human rights 

22 advocacy, the United States is home to the largest 

23 Korean population outside of northeast Asia, and 

24 many people in the Korean-American community 

25 have family ties to North Korea. 


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1 (5) Notwithstanding high-level advocacy by the 

2 United States, South Korea, and the United Nations 

3 High Commissioner for Refugees, China has forcibly 

4 repatriated tens of thousands of North Koreans. 

5 (6) Congressman Eni F.H. Faleomavaega 

6 served 25 years in the House of Representatives, in7 cluding as the Chairman and the Ranking Member 

8 of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and 

9 the Pacific, was a leader in strengthening the rela10 tionship between the American and Korean peoples, 

11 authored multiple resolutions regarding issues on the 

12 Korean Peninsula, was a champion of human rights, 

13 and stated, in support of the Ambassador James R. 

14 Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North 

15 Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012, 

16 that ‘‘just as Ambassador Lilley and Congressman 

17 Solarz worked hard to protect the human rights of 

18 the North Korean people, we must remain vigilant 

19 in helping the people of North Korea who struggle 

20 daily to escape the oppression and tyranny of the 

21 North Korean regime’’. 

22 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) the United States should continue to seek 

25 cooperation from all foreign governments to allow 


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1 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 

2 access to process North Korean refugees overseas 

3 for resettlement and to allow United States officials 

4 access to process refugees for resettlement in the 

5 United States (if that is the destination country of 

6 the refugees’ choosing); 

7 (2) the Secretary of State, through persistent 

8 diplomacy by senior officials, including United 

9 States ambassadors to Asia-Pacific countries, and in 

10 close cooperation with United States ally South 

11 Korea, should make every effort to promote the pro12 tection of North Korean refugees and defectors; and 

13 (3) because North Koreans fleeing into China 

14 face a well-founded fear of persecution upon their 

15 forcible repatriation, the United States should urge 

16 China to— 

17 (A) immediately halt the forcible repatri18 ation of North Koreans; 

19 (B) allow the United Nations High Com20 missioner for Refugees unimpeded access to 

21 North Koreans inside China to determine 

22 whether such North Koreans require protection 

23 as refugees; and 

24 (C) fulfill its obligations under the 1951 

25 United Nations Convention Relating to the StaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:26 Apr 14, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2061.IH H2061

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1 tus of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to 

2 the Status of Refugees, and the Agreement on 

3 the Upgrading of the UNHCR Mission in the 

4 People’s Republic of China to UNHCR Branch 

5 Office in the People’s Republic of China (signed 

6 December 1, 1995). 

7 SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NORTH KOREAN 

8 HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2004. 

9 (a) HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS.— 

10 Paragraph (1) of section 102(b) of the North Korean 

11 Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7812(b)) is amend12 ed by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

13 (b) PROMOTING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.—Sec14 tion 104 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 

15 (22 U.S.C. 7814) is amended by striking ‘‘2017’’ in each 

16 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

17 (c) REPORT BY SPECIAL ENVOY ON NORTH KOREAN

18 HUMAN RIGHTS.—Subsection (d) of section 107 of the 

19 North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 

20 7817) is amended by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘2022’’. 

22 (d) REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—Sec23 tion 201 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 

24 (22 U.S.C. 7831) is amended in the matter preceding 

25 paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 


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1 (e) ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH

2 KOREA.—Paragraph (1) of section 203(c) of the North 

3 Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7833(c)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

5 (f) ANNUAL REPORTING.—Section 305 of the North 

6 Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7845) is 

7 amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by strik8 ing ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2022’’. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORT BY THE BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOV10 ERNORS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Broadcasting Board 

13 of Governors shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

14 committees a report that— 

15 (1) describes the status of current United 

16 States broadcasting to North Korea and the extent 

17 to which the Board has achieved the goal of 12- 

18 hour-per-day broadcasting to North Korea, in ac19 cordance with section 103(a) of the North Korean 

20 Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7813(a)); 

21 and 

22 (2) includes a strategy to overcome obstacles to 

23 such communication with the North Korean people, 

24 including through unrestricted, unmonitored, and in25 expensive electronic means. 


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1 (b) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 

3 a classified annex. 

4 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

5 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com6 mittees’’ has the meaning given such term in section 5 

7 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 

8 U.S.C. 7803). 

Æ 


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