North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2022

To reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2022 2. 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. (2) The human rights and humanitarian conditions within the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) remain deplorable and have been intentionally perpetuated against the people of North Korea through policies endorsed and implemented by Kim Jong-Un and the Korean Workers’ Party. (3) According to a 2014 report released by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, between 80,000 and 120,000 children, women, and men are currently being held in political prison camps in North Korea and are subjected to deliberate starvation, forced labor, executions, torture, rape, forced abortion, and infanticide. (4) North Korea continues to hold a number of South Koreans abducted after the signing of the 1953 armistice agreement and refuses to acknowledge the abduction of over 100,000 South Koreans during the Korean war in violation of the Geneva Convention. (5) Human rights violations in North Korea, which include forced starvation, sexual violence against women and children, restrictions on freedom of movement, arbitrary detention, torture, executions, and enforced disappearances, amount to crimes against humanity according to the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the DPRK. (6) The effects of the COVID–19 pandemic and the DPRK’s strict lockdown of its borders and crackdowns on informal market activities and small entrepreneurship have drastically increased food insecurity for its people and given rise to famine conditions in parts of the country. (7) The DPRK’s COVID–19 border lockdown measures also include shoot-to-kill orders that has resulted in the killing of North Koreans attempting to cross the border and at least one South Korean citizen in September 2020. (8) The Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is aiding and abetting in crimes against humanity by forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees to the DPRK. Upon repatriation, North Koreans are sent to prison camps, harshly interrogated, tortured, or executed. The Government of the People’s Republic of China’s forcible repatriation of North Korean refugees violates its non-refoulement obligations, under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at Geneva July 28, 1951 (as made applicable by the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, done at New York January 31, 1967 (19 UST 6223)). (9) The DPRK continues to bar freedom of religion and persecute religious minorities, especially Christians. Eyewitnesses reported that Christians in North Korea have been tortured, forcibly detained, and even executed for possessing a Bible or professing Christianity. (10) Broadcasting operations into the DPRK serve as a critical source of outside news and information for the North Korean people and provides a valuable service for countering propaganda and false narratives. (11) The position of Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues has been vacant since January 2017, although the President is required to appoint a Senate-confirmed Special Envoy to fill this position in accordance with section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7817 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) promoting information access in North Korea continues to be a successful method of countering DPRK propaganda and the United States Government should continue to support nongovernmental radio broadcasting to North Korea and promote other emerging methods in this space; (2) because refugees among North Koreans fleeing into China face severe punishments upon their forcible return, the United States should urge the Government of the People’s Republic of China to— (A) immediately halt its forcible repatriation of North Koreans who would face persecution or torture upon return; (B) 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; (C) fulfill its obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 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 (signed December 1, 1995); (D) address the concerns of the United Nations Committee against Torture by incorporating into domestic legislation the principle of non-refoulement; and (E) recognize the legal status of North Korean women who marry or have children with Chinese citizens, and ensure that all such mothers and children are granted resident status and access to education and other public services in accordance with Chinese law and consistent with international standards; (3) the United States Government should continue to promote the effective and transparent delivery and distribution of any humanitarian aid provided in North Korea to ensure it reaches its intended recipients to the point of consumption or utilization by cooperating closely with the Government of the Republic of Korea and international and nongovernmental organizations; (4) the United States currently blocks United States passports from being used to travel to North Korea without a special validation from the Department of State, and the Department of State should continue to take steps to increase public awareness about the risks and dangers of travel by United States citizens to North Korea; (5) the United Nations has a significant role to play in promoting and improving human rights in North Korea and should press for access for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, as well as for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; (6) the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues should be appointed without delay 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; (7) the United States should urge North Korea to repeal the Reactionary Thought and Culture Denunciation Law and other draconian laws, regulations, and decrees as their implementation manifestly violates the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; (8) the United States should urge North Korea to ensure that any restrictions on addressing the COVID–19 pandemic are necessary, proportionate, nondiscriminatory, time-bound, and transparent, and allow international staff to operate inside the DPRK to provide international assistance based on independent needs assessments; (9) the United States should continue to seek cooperation from all foreign governments to allow the UNHCR access to process North Korean refugees overseas for resettlement; and (10) the Secretary of State, through diplomacy by senior officials, including United States ambassadors to Asia-Pacific countries, and in close cooperation with South Korea, should make every effort to promote the protection of North Korean refugees, escapees, and defectors. 4. Actions to promote freedom of information (a) Conforming change of name Section 104(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7814(a) Public Law 108–333 Broadcasting Board of Governors United States Agency for Global Media (b) Extension of authorization of appropriations Paragraph (1) of section 104(b) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7814(b) 2022 2027 (c) Extension of implementation report Subsection (c) of section 104 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7814 (1) by striking 2022 2027 (2) by striking section. section, including— (1) an update of the plan required under subparagraph (A) of subsection (a)(7); (2) a description of the effectiveness of actions taken pursuant to this section, including data reflecting audience and listenership, device distribution and usage, and technological development and advancement usage; (3) the amount of funds expended by the United States Government to carry out this section; and (4) other appropriate information necessary to fully inform Congress of efforts related to this section. . 5. Report on United States humanitarian assistance (a) In general Section 201(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7831(a) (1) in paragraph (2), by striking and (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting : and (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (4) the impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic on the North Korean people across the country and on the distribution of humanitarian assistance inside North Korea. . (b) Effective date The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply beginning with the first report required under section 201(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, as amended by such subsection. 6. Reauthorization provisions (a) 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) 2022 2027 (b) Report by Special Envoy for North Korean human rights issues Section 107(d) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7817(d) 2022 2027 (c) Report on United States humanitarian assistance Subsection (a) of section 201 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7831 2022 2027 (d) 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) 2022 2027 (e) Annual reports Section 305(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7845(a) 2022 2027 (f) Special Envoy for North Korean human rights issues Section 107 of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7817 (e) Report on appointment of Special Envoy Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subsection and annually thereafter through 2027, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on efforts being taken to appoint a Special Envoy for North Korean human rights issues so long as such position remains vacant. . (g) Report on North Korean prison camps Section 303 of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 ( 22 U.S.C. 9242 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting annually through 2027 submit (2) in subsection (b)— (A) by striking The report Each report (B) by striking the date of the enactment of this Act the date of the enactment of the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2022 7. Report by United States Agency for Global Media Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that— (1) describes the status of current United States broadcasting to North Korea and the extent to which the Agency has achieved the goal of 12-hour-per-day broadcasting to North Korea, in accordance with section 103(a) of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 ( 22 U.S.C. 7813(a) (2) includes a strategy to overcome obstacles to such broadcasting, including through unrestricted, unmonitored, and inexpensive electronic means. 8. Sense of Congress regarding Korean-American divided families It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the United States and North Korea should begin the process of reuniting Korean-American divided family members with their immediate relatives through ways such as— (A) identifying divided families in the United States and North Korea who are willing and able to participate in a pilot program for family reunions; (B) finding matches for members of such families through organizations such as the Red Cross; and (C) working with the Government of South Korea to include American citizens in inter-Korean video reunions; (2) the institution of family is inalienable and the restoration of contact between divided families whether physically, literarily, or virtually is an urgent need; and (3) the United States and North Korea should pursue reunions as a humanitarian priority of immediate concern.

Summary: North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2022 This bill reauthorizes through FY2027 various activities to promote human rights in North Korea. These activities include (1) providing grants to nonprofit organizations to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, and the development of a market economy in North Korea; (2) increasing the availability of sources of information inside North Korea that are not controlled by North Korea's government; and (3) supporting organizations that provide humanitarian assistance to North Koreans who are outside of North Korea without the permission of North Korea's government.