H. R. 4011—9
TITLE III—PROTECTING NORTH
KOREAN REFUGEES
SEC. 301. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD REFUGEES AND DEFEC-
TORS.
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with
the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies,
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the
Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and
the Senate a report that describes the situation of North Korean
refugees and explains United States Government policy toward
North Korean nationals outside of North Korea.
(b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include—
(1) an assessment of the circumstances facing North Korean
refugees and migrants in hiding, particularly in China, and
of the circumstances they face if forcibly returned to North
Korea;
(2) an assessment of whether North Koreans in China
have effective access to personnel of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, and of whether the Government
of China is fulfilling its obligations under the 1951 Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees, particularly Articles 31,
32, and 33 of such Convention;
(3) an assessment of whether North Koreans presently
have unobstructed access to United States refugee and asylum
processing, and of United States policy toward North Koreans
who may present themselves at United States embassies or
consulates and request protection as refugees or asylum seekers
and resettlement in the United States;
(4) the total number of North Koreans who have been
admitted into the United States as refugees or asylees in each
of the past 5 years;
(5) an estimate of the number of North Koreans with
family connections to United States citizens; and
(6) a description of the measures that the Secretary of
State is taking to carry out section 303.
(c) FORM.—The information required by paragraphs (1) through
(5) of subsection (b) shall be provided in unclassified form. All
or part of the information required by subsection (b)(6) may be
provided in classified form, if necessary.
SEC. 302. ELIGIBILITY FOR REFUGEE OR ASYLUM CONSIDERATION.
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to clarify that
North Koreans are not barred from eligibility for refugee status
or asylum in the United States on account of any legal right
to citizenship they may enjoy under the Constitution of the Republic
of Korea. It is not intended in any way to prejudice whatever
rights to citizenship North Koreans may enjoy under the Constitu-
tion of the Republic of Korea, or to apply to former North Korean
nationals who have availed themselves of those rights.
(b) TREATMENT OF NATIONALS OF NORTH KOREA.—For purposes
of eligibility for refugee status under section 207 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), or for asylum under section
208 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1158), a national of the Democratic
H. R. 4011—10
People’s Republic of Korea shall not be considered a national of
the Republic of Korea.
SEC. 303. FACILITATING SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS FOR ADMIS-
SION AS A REFUGEE.
The Secretary of State shall undertake to facilitate the submis-
sion of applications under section 207 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) by citizens of North Korea seeking
protection as refugees (as defined in section 101(a)(42) of such
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)).
SEC. 304. UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES.
(a) ACTIONS
IN CHINA.—It is the sense of Congress that—
(1) the Government of China has obligated itself to provide
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
with unimpeded access to North Koreans inside its borders
to enable the UNHCR to determine whether they are refugees
and whether they require assistance, pursuant to the 1951
United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,
the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and
Article III, paragraph 5 of 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 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘UNHCR Mission
Agreement’’);
(2) the United States, other UNHCR donor governments,
and UNHCR should persistently and at the highest levels con-
tinue to urge the Government of China to abide by its previous
commitments to allow UNHCR unimpeded access to North
Korean refugees inside China;
(3) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out its mandate
to protect refugees, should liberally employ as professionals
or Experts on Mission persons with significant experience in
humanitarian assistance work among displaced North Koreans
in China;
(4) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out its mandate
to protect refugees, should liberally contract with appropriate
nongovernmental organizations that have a proven record of
providing humanitarian assistance to displaced North Koreans
in China;
(5) the UNHCR should pursue a multilateral agreement
to adopt an effective ‘‘first asylum’’ policy that guarantees safe
haven and assistance to North Korean refugees; and
(6) should the Government of China begin actively fulfilling
its obligations toward North Korean refugees, all countries,
including the United States, and relevant international
organizations should increase levels of humanitarian assistance
provided inside China to help defray costs associated with
the North Korean refugee presence.
(b) ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS.—It is further the sense of Con-
gress that—
(1) if the Government of China continues to refuse to pro-
vide the UNHCR with access to North Koreans within its
borders, the UNHCR should initiate arbitration proceedings
pursuant to Article XVI of the UNHCR Mission Agreement
and appoint an arbitrator for the UNHCR; and
(2) because access to refugees is essential to the UNHCR
mandate and to the purpose of a UNHCR branch office, a
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failure to assert those arbitration rights in present cir-
cumstances would constitute a significant abdication by the
UNHCR of one of its core responsibilities.
SEC. 305. ANNUAL REPORTS.
(a) IMMIGRATION INFORMATION.—Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 12 months there-
after for each of the following 5 years, the Secretary of State
and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a joint report
to the appropriate congressional committees and the Committees
on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate
on the operation of this title during the previous year, which shall
include—
(1) the number of aliens who are nationals or citizens
of North Korea who applied for political asylum and the number
who were granted political asylum; and
(2) the number of aliens who are nationals or citizens
of North Korea who applied for refugee status and the number
who were granted refugee status.
(b) COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.—The President shall
include in each annual report on proposed refugee admission pursu-
ant to section 207(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1157(d)), information about specific measures taken to facili-
tate access to the United States refugee program for individuals
who have fled countries of particular concern for violations of reli-
gious freedom, identified pursuant to section 402(b) of the Inter-
national Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)). The
report shall include, for each country of particular concern, a
description of access of the nationals or former habitual residents
of that country to a refugee determination on the basis of—
(1) referrals by external agencies to a refugee adjudication;
(2) groups deemed to be of special humanitarian concern
to the United States for purposes of refugee resettlement; and
(3) family links to the United States.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.