In the Senate of the United States,

September 28, 2004.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 4011) entitled ‘‘An Act to promote human rights

and freedom in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

3 Rights Act of 2004’’.
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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

Sec. 3. Findings.

Sec. 4. Purposes.

Sec. 5. Definitions.

TITLE I—PROMOTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF NORTH KOREANS

Sec. 101. Sense of Congress regarding negotiations with North Korea.

Sec. 102. Support for human rights and democracy programs.

Sec. 103. Radio broadcasting to North Korea.

Sec. 104. Actions to promote freedom of information.

Sec. 105. United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Sec. 106. Establishment of regional framework.

Sec. 107. Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea.

TITLE II—ASSISTING NORTH KOREANS IN NEED

Sec. 201. Report on United States humanitarian assistance.

Sec. 202. Assistance provided inside North Korea.

Sec. 203. Assistance provided outside of North Korea.

TITLE III—PROTECTING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES

Sec. 301. United States policy toward refugees and defectors.

Sec. 302. Eligibility for refugee or asylum consideration.

Sec. 303. Facilitating submission of applications for admission as a refugee.

Sec. 304. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Sec. 305. Annual reports.

3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

4 Congress makes the following findings:

5 (1) According to the Department of State, the

6 Government of North Korea is ‘‘a dictatorship under

7 the absolute rule of Kim Jong Il’’ that continues to

8 commit numerous, serious human rights abuses.

9 (2) The Government of North Korea attempts to

10 control all information, artistic expression, academic

11 works, and media activity inside North Korea and

12 strictly curtails freedom of speech and access to for13 eign broadcasts.
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1 (3) The Government of North Korea subjects all

2 its citizens to systematic, intensive political and ideo3 logical indoctrination in support of the cult of person4 ality glorifying Kim Jong Il and the late Kim Il

5 Sung that approaches the level of a state religion.

6 (4) The Government of North Korea divides its

7 population into categories, based on perceived loyalty

8 to the leadership, which determines access to food, em9 ployment, higher education, place of residence, med10 ical facilities, and other resources.

11 (5) According to the Department of State, ‘‘[t]he

12 [North Korean] Penal Code is [d]raconian, stipu13 lating capital punishment and confiscation of assets

14 for a wide variety of ‘crimes against the revolution,’

15 including defection, attempted defection, slander of

16 the policies of the Party or State, listening to foreign

17 broadcasts, writing ‘reactionary’ letters, and pos18 sessing reactionary printed matter’’.

19 (6) The Government of North Korea executes po20 litical prisoners, opponents of the regime, some repa21 triated defectors, some members of underground

22 churches, and others, sometimes at public meetings at23 tended by workers, students, and schoolchildren.

24 (7) The Government of North Korea holds an es25 timated 200,000 political prisoners in camps that its
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1 State Security Agency manages through the use of

2 forced labor, beatings, torture, and executions, and in

3 which many prisoners also die from disease, starva4 tion, and exposure.

5 (8) According to eyewitness testimony provided

6 to the United States Congress by North Korean camp

7 survivors, camp inmates have been used as sources of

8 slave labor for the production of export goods, as tar9 gets for martial arts practice, and as experimental

10 victims in the testing of chemical and biological poi11 sons.

12 (9) According to credible reports, including eye13 witness testimony provided to the United States Con14 gress, North Korean Government officials prohibit live

15 births in prison camps, and forced abortion and the

16 killing of newborn babies are standard prison prac17 tices.

18 (10) According to the Department of State,

19 ‘‘[g]enuine religious freedom does not exist in North

20 Korea’’ and, according to the United States Commis21 sion on International Religious Freedom, ‘‘[t]he

22 North Korean state severely represses public and pri23 vate religious activities’’ with penalties that report24 edly include arrest, imprisonment, torture, and some25 times execution.
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1 (11) More than 2,000,000 North Koreans are es2 timated to have died of starvation since the early

3 1990s because of the failure of the centralized agricul4 tural and public distribution systems operated by the

5 Government of North Korea.

6 (12) According to a 2002 United Nations-Euro7 pean Union survey, nearly one out of every ten chil8 dren in North Korea suffers from acute malnutrition

9 and four out of every ten children in North Korea are

10 chronically malnourished.

11 (13) Since 1995, the United States has provided

12 more than 2,000,000 tons of humanitarian food as13 sistance to the people of North Korea, primarily

14 through the World Food Program.

15 (14) Although United States food assistance has

16 undoubtedly saved many North Korean lives and

17 there have been minor improvements in transparency

18 relating to the distribution of such assistance in

19 North Korea, the Government of North Korea con20 tinues to deny the World Food Program forms of ac21 cess necessary to properly monitor the delivery of food

22 aid, including the ability to conduct random site vis23 its, the use of native Korean-speaking employees, and

24 travel access throughout North Korea.
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1 (15) The risk of starvation, the threat of persecu2 tion, and the lack of freedom and opportunity in

3 North Korea have caused large numbers, perhaps even

4 hundreds of thousands, of North Koreans to flee their

5 homeland, primarily into China.

6 (16) North Korean women and girls, particu7 larly those who have fled into China, are at risk of

8 being kidnapped, trafficked, and sexually exploited

9 inside China, where many are sold as brides or con10 cubines, or forced to work as prostitutes.

11 (17) The Governments of China and North Korea

12 have been conducting aggressive campaigns to locate

13 North Koreans who are in China without permission

14 and to forcibly return them to North Korea, where

15 they routinely face torture and imprisonment, and

16 sometimes execution.

17 (18) Despite China’s obligations as a party to

18 the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the

19 Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to

20 the Status of Refugees, China routinely classifies

21 North Koreans seeking asylum in China as mere ‘‘eco22 nomic migrants’’ and returns them to North Korea

23 without regard to the serious threat of persecution

24 they face upon their return.
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1 (19) The Government of China does not provide

2 North Koreans whose asylum requests are rejected a

3 right to have the rejection reviewed prior to deporta4 tion despite its obligations under the 1951 United Na5 tions Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

6 and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refu7 gees.

8 (20) North Koreans who seek asylum while in

9 China are routinely imprisoned and tortured, and in

10 some cases killed, after they are returned to North

11 Korea.

12 (21) The Government of China has detained,

13 convicted, and imprisoned foreign aid workers at14 tempting to assist North Korean refugees in pro15 ceedings that did not comply with Chinese law or

16 international standards.

17 (22) In January 2000, North Korean agents in18 side China allegedly abducted the Reverend Kim

19 Dong-shik, a United States permanent resident and

20 advocate for North Korean refugees, whose condition

21 and whereabouts remain unknown.

22 (23) Between 1994 and 2003, South Korea has

23 admitted approximately 3,800 North Korean refugees

24 for domestic resettlement, a number that is small in

25 comparison with the total number of North Korean
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1 escapees but far greater than the number legally ad2 mitted in any other country.

3 (24) Although the principal responsibility for

4 North Korean refugee resettlement naturally falls to

5 the Government of South Korea, the United States

6 should play a leadership role in focusing inter7 national attention on the plight of these refugees, and

8 formulating international solutions to that profound

9 humanitarian dilemma.

10 (25) In addition to infringing the rights of its

11 own citizens, the Government of North Korea has been

12 responsible in years past for the abduction of numer13 ous citizens of South Korea and Japan, whose condi14 tion and whereabouts remain unknown.

15 SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

16 The purposes of this Act are—

17 (1) to promote respect for and protection of fun18 damental human rights in North Korea;

19 (2) to promote a more durable humanitarian so20 lution to the plight of North Korean refugees;

21 (3) to promote increased monitoring, access, and

22 transparency in the provision of humanitarian assist23 ance inside North Korea;

24 (4) to promote the free flow of information into

25 and out of North Korea; and
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1 (5) to promote progress toward the peaceful re2 unification of the Korean peninsula under a demo3 cratic system of government.

4 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act:

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit8 tees’’ means—

9 (A) the Committee on International Rela10 tions of the House of Representatives; and

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of

12 the Senate.

13 (2) CHINA.—The term ‘‘China’’ means the Peo14 ple’s Republic of China.

15 (3) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘hu16 manitarian assistance’’ means assistance to meet hu17 manitarian needs, including needs for food, medicine,

18 medical supplies, clothing, and shelter.

19 (4) NORTHKOREA.—The term ‘‘North Korea’’

20 means the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

21 (5) NORTHKOREANS.—The term ‘‘North Kore22 ans’’ means persons who are citizens or nationals of

23 North Korea.

24 (6) SOUTHKOREA.—The term ‘‘South Korea’’

25 means the Republic of Korea.
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1 TITLE I—PROMOTING THE

2 HUMAN RIGHTS OF NORTH

3 KOREANS

4 SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEGOTIATIONS

5 WITH NORTH KOREA.

6 It is the sense of Congress that the human rights of

7 North Koreans should remain a key element in future nego8 tiations between the United States, North Korea, and other

9 concerned parties in Northeast Asia.

10 SEC. 102. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

11 PROGRAMS.

12 (a) SUPPORT.—The President is authorized to provide

13 grants to private, nonprofit organizations to support pro14 grams that promote human rights, democracy, rule of law,

15 and the development of a market economy in North Korea.

16 Such programs may include appropriate educational and

17 cultural exchange programs with North Korean partici18 pants, to the extent not otherwise prohibited by law.

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap21 propriated to the President $2,000,000 for each of the

22 fiscal years 2005 through 2008 to carry out this sec23 tion.

24 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur25 suant to the authorization of appropriations under
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1 paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available

2 until expended.

3 SEC. 103. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA.

4 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress

5 that the United States should facilitate the unhindered dis6 semination of information in North Korea by increasing

7 its support for radio broadcasting to North Korea, and that

8 the Broadcasting Board of Governors should increase broad9 casts to North Korea from current levels, with a goal of pro10 viding 12-hour-per-day broadcasting to North Korea, in11 cluding broadcasts by Radio Free Asia and Voice of Amer12 ica.

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date

14 of the enactment of this Act, the Broadcasting Board of Gov15 ernors shall submit to the appropriate congressional com16 mittees a report that—

17 (1) describes the status of current United States

18 broadcasting to North Korea; and

19 (2) outlines a plan for increasing such broad20 casts to 12 hours per day, including a detailed de21 scription of the technical and fiscal requirements nec22 essary to implement the plan.
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1 SEC. 104. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMA2 TION.

3 (a) ACTIONS.—The President is authorized to take

4 such actions as may be necessary to increase the avail5 ability of information inside North Korea by increasing the

6 availability of sources of information not controlled by the

7 Government of North Korea, including sources such as ra8 dios capable of receiving broadcasting from outside North

9 Korea.

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap12 propriated to the President $2,000,000 for each of the

13 fiscal years 2005 through 2008 to carry out subsection

14 (a).

15 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur16 suant to the authorization of appropriations under

17 paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available

18 until expended.

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of

20 the enactment of this Act, and in each of the 3 years there21 after, the Secretary of State, after consultation with the

22 heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agen23 cies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional commit24 tees a report, in classified form, on actions taken pursuant

25 to this section.
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1 SEC. 105. UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN

2 RIGHTS.

3 It is the sense of Congress that the United Nations has

4 a significant role to play in promoting and improving

5 human rights in North Korea, and that—

6 (1) the United Nations Commission on Human

7 Rights (UNCHR) has taken positive steps by adopt8 ing Resolution 2003/10 and Resolution 2004/13 on

9 the situation of human rights in North Korea, and

10 particularly by requesting the appointment of a Spe11 cial Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in

12 North Korea; and

13 (2) the severe human rights violations within

14 North Korea warrant country-specific attention and

15 reporting by the United Nations Working Group on

16 Arbitrary Detention, the Working Group on Enforced

17 and Involuntary Disappearances, the Special

18 Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary

19 Executions, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to

20 Food, the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and

21 Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and

22 Expression, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of

23 Religion or Belief, and the Special Rapporteur on Vi24 olence Against Women.
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1 SEC. 106. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL FRAMEWORK.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that human rights

3 initiatives can be undertaken on a multilateral basis, such

4 as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Eu5 rope (OSCE), which established a regional framework for

6 discussing human rights, scientific and educational co7 operation, and economic and trade issues.

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress

9 that the United Sates should explore the possibility of a re10 gional human rights dialogue with North Korea that is

11 modeled on the Helsinki process, engaging all countries in

12 the region in a common commitment to respect human

13 rights and fundamental freedoms.

14 SEC. 107. SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH

15 KOREA.

16 (a) SPECIAL ENVOY.—The President shall appoint a

17 special envoy for human rights in North Korea within the

18 Department of State (hereafter in this section referred to

19 as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’). The Special Envoy should be a

20 person of recognized distinction in the field of human

21 rights.

22 (b) CENTRAL OBJECTIVE.—The central objective of the

23 Special Envoy is to coordinate and promote efforts to im24 prove respect for the fundamental human rights of the peo25 ple of North Korea.
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1 (c) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special

2 Envoy shall—

3 (1) engage in discussions with North Korean of4 ficials regarding human rights;

5 (2) support international efforts to promote

6 human rights and political freedoms in North Korea,

7 including coordination and dialogue between the

8 United States and the United Nations, the European

9 Union, North Korea, and the other countries in

10 Northeast Asia;

11 (3) consult with non-governmental organizations

12 who have attempted to address human rights in North

13 Korea;

14 (4) make recommendations regarding the fund15 ing of activities authorized in section 102;

16 (5) review strategies for improving protection of

17 human rights in North Korea, including technical

18 training and exchange programs; and

19 (6) develop an action plan for supporting imple20 mentation of the United Nations Commission on

21 Human Rights Resolution 2004/13.

22 (d) REPORT ON ACTIVITIES.—Not later than 180 days

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually

24 for the subsequent 5 year-period, the Special Envoy shall

25 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
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1 on the activities undertaken in the preceding 12 months

2 under subsection (c).

3 TITLE II—ASSISTING NORTH

4 KOREANS IN NEED

5 SEC. 201. REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN AS6 SISTANCE.

7 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date

8 of the enactment of this Act, and in each of the 2 years

9 thereafter, the Administrator of the United States Agency

10 for International Development, in conjunction with the Sec11 retary of State, shall submit to the appropriate congres12 sional committees a report that describes—

13 (1) all activities to provide humanitarian assist14 ance inside North Korea, and to North Koreans out15 side of North Korea, that receive United States fund16 ing;

17 (2) any improvements in humanitarian trans18 parency, monitoring, and access inside North Korea

19 during the previous 1-year period, including progress

20 toward meeting the conditions identified in para21 graphs (1) through (4) of section 202(b); and

22 (3) specific efforts to secure improved humani23 tarian transparency, monitoring, and access inside

24 North Korea made by the United States and United
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1 States grantees, including the World Food Program,

2 during the previous 1-year period.

3 (b) FORM.—The information required by subsection

4 (a)(1) may be provided in classified form if necessary.

5 SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED INSIDE NORTH KOREA.

6 (a) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE THROUGH NON7 GOVERNMENTAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.—It

8 is the sense of the Congress that—

9 (1) at the same time that Congress supports the

10 provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of

11 North Korea on humanitarian grounds, such assist12 ance also should be provided and monitored so as to

13 minimize the possibility that such assistance could be

14 diverted to political or military use, and to maximize

15 the likelihood that it will reach the most vulnerable

16 North Koreans;

17 (2) significant increases above current levels of

18 United States support for humanitarian assistance

19 provided inside North Korea should be conditioned

20 upon substantial improvements in transparency,

21 monitoring, and access to vulnerable populations

22 throughout North Korea; and

23 (3) the United States should encourage other

24 countries that provide food and other humanitarian

25 assistance to North Korea to do so through monitored,
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1 transparent channels, rather than through direct, bi2 lateral transfers to the Government of North Korea.

3 (b) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERN4 MENT OF NORTH KOREA.—It is the sense of Congress that—

5 (1) United States humanitarian assistance to

6 any department, agency, or entity of the Government

7 of North Korea shall—

8 (A) be delivered, distributed, and monitored

9 according to internationally recognized humani10 tarian standards;

11 (B) be provided on a needs basis, and not

12 used as a political reward or tool of coercion;

13 (C) reach the intended beneficiaries, who

14 should be informed of the source of the assistance;

15 and

16 (D) be made available to all vulnerable

17 groups in North Korea, no matter where in the

18 country they may be located; and

19 (2) United States nonhumanitarian assistance to

20 North Korea shall be contingent on North Korea’s

21 substantial progress toward—

22 (A) respect for the basic human rights of the

23 people of North Korea, including freedom of reli24 gion;
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1 (B) providing for family reunification be2 tween North Koreans and their descendants and

3 relatives in the United States;

4 (C) fully disclosing all information regard5 ing citizens of Japan and the Republic of Korea

6 abducted by the Government of North Korea;

7 (D) allowing such abductees, along with

8 their families, complete and genuine freedom to

9 leave North Korea and return to the abductees’

10 original home countries;

11 (E) reforming the North Korean prison and

12 labor camp system, and subjecting such reforms

13 to independent international monitoring; and

14 (F) decriminalizing political expression and

15 activity.

16 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Agen18 cy for International Development shall submit to the appro19 priate congressional committees a report describing compli20 ance with this section.

21 SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH

22 KOREA.

23 (a) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized to pro24 vide assistance to support organizations or persons that

25 provide humanitarian assistance to North Koreans who are
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1 outside of North Korea without the permission of the Gov2 ernment of North Korea.

3 (b) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance provided

4 under subsection (a) should be used to provide—

5 (1) humanitarian assistance to North Korean

6 refugees, defectors, migrants, and orphans outside of

7 North Korea, which may include support for refugee

8 camps or temporary settlements; and

9 (2) humanitarian assistance to North Korean

10 women outside of North Korea who are victims of

11 trafficking, as defined in section 103(14) of the Traf12 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C.

13 7102(14)), or are in danger of being trafficked.

14 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to funds otherwise

16 available for such purposes, there are authorized to be

17 appropriated to the President $20,000,000 for each of

18 the fiscal years 2005 through 2008 to carry out this

19 section.

20 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur21 suant to the authorization of appropriations under

22 paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available

23 until expended.
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1 TITLE III—PROTECTING NORTH

2 KOREAN REFUGEES

3 SEC. 301. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD REFUGEES AND

4 DEFECTORS.

5 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date

6 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in con7 sultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal de8 partments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate

9 congressional committees and the Committees on the Judici10 ary of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report

11 that describes the situation of North Korean refugees and

12 explains United States Government policy toward North

13 Korean nationals outside of North Korea.

14 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include—

15 (1) an assessment of the circumstances facing

16 North Korean refugees and migrants in hiding, par17 ticularly in China, and of the circumstances they face

18 if forcibly returned to North Korea;

19 (2) an assessment of whether North Koreans in

20 China have effective access to personnel of the United

21 Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and of

22 whether the Government of China is fulfilling its obli23 gations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the

24 Status of Refugees, particularly Articles 31, 32, and

25 33 of such Convention;
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1 (3) an assessment of whether North Koreans

2 presently have unobstructed access to United States

3 refugee and asylum processing, and of United States

4 policy toward North Koreans who may present them5 selves at United States embassies or consulates and

6 request protection as refugees or asylum seekers and

7 resettlement in the United States;

8 (4) the total number of North Koreans who have

9 been admitted into the United States as refugees or

10 asylees in each of the past five years;

11 (5) an estimate of the number of North Koreans

12 with family connections to United States citizens;

13 and

14 (6) a description of the measures that the Sec15 retary of State is taking to carry out section 303.

16 (c) FORM.—The information required by paragraphs

17 (1) through (5) of subsection (b) shall be provided in unclas18 sified form. All or part of the information required by sub19 section (b)(6) may be provided in classified form, if nec20 essary.

21 SEC. 302. ELIGIBILITY FOR REFUGEE OR ASYLUM CONSID22 ERATION.

23 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to clarify

24 that North Koreans are not barred from eligibility for ref25 ugee status or asylum in the United States on account of
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1 any legal right to citizenship they may enjoy under the

2 Constitution of the Republic of Korea. It is not intended

3 in any way to prejudice whatever rights to citizenship

4 North Koreans may enjoy under the Constitution of the Re5 public of Korea, or to apply to former North Korean nation6 als who have availed themselves of those rights.

7 (b) TREATMENT OF NATIONALS OF NORTH KOREA.—

8 For purposes of eligibility for refugee status under section

9 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

10 1157), or for asylum under section 208 of such Act (8

11 U.S.C. 1158), a national of the Democratic People’s Repub12 lic of Korea shall not be considered a national of the Repub13 lic of Korea.

14 SEC. 303. FACILITATING SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

15 FOR ADMISSION AS A REFUGEE.

16 The Secretary of State shall undertake to facilitate the

17 submission of applications under section 207 of the Immi18 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) by citizens

19 of North Korea seeking protection as refugees (as defined

20 in section 101(a)(42) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)).

21 SEC. 304. UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REF22 UGEES.

23 (a) ACTIONS IN CHINA.—It is the sense of Congress

24 that—
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1 (1) the Government of China has obligated itself

2 to provide the United Nations High Commissioner for

3 Refugees (UNHCR) with unimpeded access to North

4 Koreans inside its borders to enable the UNHCR to

5 determine whether they are refugees and whether they

6 require assistance, pursuant to the 1951 United Na7 tions Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,

8 the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees,

9 and Article III, paragraph 5 of the 1995 Agreement

10 on the Upgrading of the UNHCR Mission in the Peo11 ple’s Republic of China to UNHCR Branch Office in

12 the People’s Republic of China (referred to in this sec13 tion as the ‘‘UNHCR Mission Agreement’’);

14 (2) the United States, other UNHCR donor gov15 ernments, and UNHCR should persistently and at the

16 highest levels continue to urge the Government of

17 China to abide by its previous commitments to allow

18 UNHCR unimpeded access to North Korean refugees

19 inside China;

20 (3) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out

21 its mandate to protect refugees, should liberally em22 ploy as professionals or Experts on Mission persons

23 with significant experience in humanitarian assist24 ance work among displaced North Koreans in China;
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1 (4) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out

2 its mandate to protect refugees, should liberally con3 tract with appropriate nongovernmental organiza4 tions that have a proven record of providing humani5 tarian assistance to displaced North Koreans in

6 China;

7 (5) the UNHCR should pursue a multilateral

8 agreement to adopt an effective ‘‘first asylum’’ policy

9 that guarantees safe haven and assistance to North

10 Korean refugees; and

11 (6) should the Government of China begin ac12 tively fulfilling its obligations toward North Korean

13 refugees, all countries, including the United States,

14 and relevant international organizations should in15 crease levels of humanitarian assistance provided in16 side China to help defray costs associated with the

17 North Korean refugee presence.

18 (b) ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS.—It is further the

19 sense of Congress that—

20 (1) if the Government of China continues to

21 refuse to provide the UNHCR with access to North

22 Koreans within its borders, the UNHCR should ini23 tiate arbitration proceedings pursuant to Article XVI

24 of the UNHCR Mission Agreement and appoint an

25 arbitrator for the UNHCR; and
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1 (2) because access to refugees is essential to the

2 UNHCR mandate and to the purpose of a UNHCR

3 branch office, a failure to assert those arbitration

4 rights in present circumstances would constitute a

5 significant abdication by the UNHCR of one of its

6 core responsibilities.

7 SEC. 305. ANNUAL REPORTS.

8 (a) IMMIGRATION INFORMATION.—Not later than 1

9 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every

10 12 months thereafter for each of the following 5 years, the

11 Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security

12 shall submit a joint report to the appropriate congressional

13 committees and the Committees on the Judiciary of the

14 House of Representatives and the Senate on the operation

15 of this title during the previous year, which shall include—

16 (1) the number of aliens who are nationals or

17 citizens of North Korea who applied for political asy18 lum and the number who were granted political asy19 lum; and

20 (2) the number of aliens who are nationals or

21 citizens of North Korea who applied for refugee status

22 and the number who were granted refugee status.

23 (b) COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.—The

24 President shall include in each annual report on proposed

25 refugee admission pursuant to section 207(d) of the Immi-
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HR 4011 EAS

1 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(d)), informa2 tion about specific measures taken to facilitate access to the

3 United States refugee program for individuals who have

4 fled countries of particular concern for violations of reli5 gious freedom, identified pursuant to section 402(b) of the

6 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C.

7 6442(b)). The report shall include, for each country of par8 ticular concern, a description of access of the nationals or

9 former habitual residents of that country to a refugee deter10 mination on the basis of—

11 (1) referrals by external agencies to a refugee ad12 judication;

13 (2) groups deemed to be of special humanitarian

14 concern to the United States for purposes of refugee

15 resettlement; and

16 (3) family links to the United States.

Attest:

Secretary.
108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4011

AMENDMENT