North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
PL 108-333 (H.R.4011), enacted 10/18/2004

118 STAT. 1287
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
Public Law 108–333
108th Congress
An Act
To promote human rights and freedom in the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Korean Human Rights
Act of 2004’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
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.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the Department of State, the Government
of North Korea is ‘‘a dictatorship under the absolute rule of
Kim Jong Il’’ that continues to commit numerous, serious
human rights abuses.
(2) The Government of North Korea attempts to control
all information, artistic expression, academic works, and media
activity inside North Korea and strictly curtails freedom of
speech and access to foreign broadcasts.
(3) The Government of North Korea subjects all its citizens
to systematic, intensive political and ideological indoctrination
Kim Il Sung.
Kim Jong Il.
22 USC 7801.
North Korean
Human Rights
Act of 2004.
22 USC 7801
note.
Oct. 18, 2004
[H.R. 4011]
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118 STAT. 1288
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
in support of the cult of personality glorifying Kim Jong Il
and the late Kim Il Sung that approaches the level of a state
religion.
(4) The Government of North Korea divides its population
into categories, based on perceived loyalty to the leadership,
which determines access to food, employment, higher education,
place of residence, medical facilities, and other resources.
(5) According to the Department of State, ‘‘[t]he [North
Korean] Penal Code is [d]raconian, stipulating capital punish-
ment and confiscation of assets for a wide variety of ‘crimes
against the revolution,’ including defection, attempted defection,
slander of the policies of the Party or State, listening to foreign
broadcasts, writing ‘reactionary’ letters, and possessing reac-
tionary printed matter’’.
(6) The Government of North Korea executes political pris-
oners, opponents of the regime, some repatriated defectors,
some members of underground churches, and others, sometimes
at public meetings attended by workers, students, and school-
children.
(7) The Government of North Korea holds an estimated
200,000 political prisoners in camps that its State Security
Agency manages through the use of forced labor, beatings,
torture, and executions, and in which many prisoners also
die from disease, starvation, and exposure.
(8) According to eyewitness testimony provided to the
United States Congress by North Korean camp survivors, camp
inmates have been used as sources of slave labor for the produc-
tion of export goods, as targets for martial arts practice, and
as experimental victims in the testing of chemical and biological
poisons.
(9) According to credible reports, including eyewitness testi-
mony provided to the United States Congress, North Korean
Government officials prohibit live births in prison camps, and
forced abortion and the killing of newborn babies are standard
prison practices.
(10) According to the Department of State, ‘‘[g]enuine reli-
gious freedom does not exist in North Korea’’ and, according
to the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom, ‘‘[t]he North Korean state severely represses public
and private religious activities’’ with penalties that reportedly
include arrest, imprisonment, torture, and sometimes execution.
(11) More than 2,000,000 North Koreans are estimated
to have died of starvation since the early 1990s because of
the failure of the centralized agricultural and public distribution
systems operated by the Government of North Korea.
(12) According to a 2002 United Nations-European Union
survey, nearly one out of every ten children in North Korea
suffers from acute malnutrition and four out of every ten chil-
dren in North Korea are chronically malnourished.
(13) Since 1995, the United States has provided more than
2,000,000 tons of humanitarian food assistance to the people
of North Korea, primarily through the World Food Program.
(14) Although United States food assistance has undoubt-
edly saved many North Korean lives and there have been
minor improvements in transparency relating to the distribu-
tion of such assistance in North Korea, the Government of
North Korea continues to deny the World Food Program forms
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118 STAT. 1289
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
of access necessary to properly monitor the delivery of food
aid, including the ability to conduct random site visits, the
use of native Korean-speaking employees, and travel access
throughout North Korea.
(15) The risk of starvation, the threat of persecution, and
the lack of freedom and opportunity in North Korea have caused
large numbers, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of North
Koreans to flee their homeland, primarily into China.
(16) North Korean women and girls, particularly those
who have fled into China, are at risk of being kidnapped,
trafficked, and sexually exploited inside China, where many
are sold as brides or concubines, or forced to work as prostitutes.
(17) The Governments of China and North Korea have
been conducting aggressive campaigns to locate North Koreans
who are in China without permission and to forcibly return
them to North Korea, where they routinely face torture and
imprisonment, and sometimes execution.
(18) Despite China’s obligations as a party to the 1951
United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees,
China routinely classifies North Koreans seeking asylum in
China as mere ‘‘economic migrants’’ and returns them to North
Korea without regard to the serious threat of persecution they
face upon their return.
(19) The Government of China does not provide North
Koreans whose asylum requests are rejected a right to have
the rejection reviewed prior to deportation despite its obliga-
tions under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to
the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the
Status of Refugees.
(20) North Koreans who seek asylum while in China are
routinely imprisoned and tortured, and in some cases killed,
after they are returned to North Korea.
(21) The Government of China has detained, convicted,
and imprisoned foreign aid workers attempting to assist North
Korean refugees in proceedings that did not comply with Chi-
nese law or international standards.
(22) In January 2000, North Korean agents inside China
allegedly abducted the Reverend Kim Dong-shik, a United
States permanent resident and advocate for North Korean refu-
gees, whose condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
(23) Between 1994 and 2003, South Korea has admitted
approximately 3,800 North Korean refugees for domestic
resettlement, a number that is small in comparison with the
total number of North Korean escapees but far greater than
the number legally admitted in any other country.
(24) Although the principal responsibility for North Korean
refugee resettlement naturally falls to the Government of South
Korea, the United States should play a leadership role in
focusing international attention on the plight of these refugees,
and formulating international solutions to that profound
humanitarian dilemma.
(25) In addition to infringing the rights of its own citizens,
the Government of North Korea has been responsible in years
past for the abduction of numerous citizens of South Korea
and Japan, whose condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
Kim Dong-shik.
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118 STAT. 1290
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
SEC. 4. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to promote respect for and protection of fundamental
human rights in North Korea;
(2) to promote a more durable humanitarian solution to
the plight of North Korean refugees;
(3) to promote increased monitoring, access, and trans-
parency in the provision of humanitarian assistance inside
North Korea;
(4) to promote the free flow of information into and out
of North Korea; and
(5) to promote progress toward the peaceful reunification
of the Korean peninsula under a democratic system of govern-
ment.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term
‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means—
(A) the Committee on International Relations of the
House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(2) CHINA.—The term ‘‘China’’ means the People’s Republic
of China.
(3) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘humanitarian
assistance’’ means assistance to meet humanitarian needs,
including needs for food, medicine, medical supplies, clothing,
and shelter.
(4) NORTH KOREA.—The term ‘‘North Korea’’ means the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
(5) NORTH KOREANS.—The term ‘‘North Koreans’’ means
persons who are citizens or nationals of North Korea.
(6) SOUTH KOREA.—The term ‘‘South Korea’’ means the
Republic of Korea.
TITLE I—PROMOTING THE HUMAN
RIGHTS OF NORTH KOREANS
SEC. 101. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEGOTIATIONS WITH
NORTH KOREA.
It is the sense of Congress that the human rights of North
Koreans should remain a key element in future negotiations
between the United States, North Korea, and other concerned par-
ties in Northeast Asia.
SEC. 102. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY PROGRAMS.
(a) SUPPORT.—The President is authorized to provide grants
to private, nonprofit organizations to support programs that pro-
mote human rights, democracy, rule of law, and the development
of a market economy in North Korea. Such programs may include
appropriate educational and cultural exchange programs with North
Korean participants, to the extent not otherwise prohibited by law.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated
to the President $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005
through 2008 to carry out this section.
President.
Grants.
22 USC 7812.
22 USC 7811.
22 USC 7803.
22 USC 7802.
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PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are author-
ized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 103. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH KOREA.
(a) SENSE
OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that
the United States should facilitate the unhindered dissemination
of information in North Korea by increasing its support for radio
broadcasting to North Korea, and that the Broadcasting Board
of Governors should increase broadcasts to North Korea from cur-
rent levels, with a goal of providing 12-hour-per-day broadcasting
to North Korea, including broadcasts by Radio Free Asia and Voice
of America.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that—
(1) describes the status of current United States broad-
casting to North Korea; and
(2) outlines a plan for increasing such broadcasts to 12
hours per day, including a detailed description of the technical
and fiscal requirements necessary to implement the plan.
SEC. 104. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.
(a) ACTIONS.—The President is authorized to take such actions
as may be necessary to increase the availability of information
inside North Korea by increasing the availability of sources of
information not controlled by the Government of North Korea,
including sources such as radios capable of receiving broadcasting
from outside North Korea.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated
to the President $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005
through 2008 to carry out subsection (a).
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are author-
ized to remain available until expended.
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and in each of the 3 years thereafter, the Secretary
of State, after consultation with the heads of other appropriate
Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report, in classified form, on actions
taken pursuant to this section.
SEC. 105. UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United Nations has a
significant role to play in promoting and improving human rights
in North Korea, and that—
(1) the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
(UNCHR) has taken positive steps by adopting Resolution 2003/
10 and Resolution 2004/13 on the situation of human rights
in North Korea, and particularly by requesting the appointment
of a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
North Korea; and
(2) the severe human rights violations within North Korea
warrant country-specific attention and reporting by the United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Working
Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, the Special
22 USC 7815.
President.
22 USC 7814.
22 USC 7813.
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118 STAT. 1292
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Execu-
tions, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the Special
Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to
Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Special Rapporteur
on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women.
SEC. 106. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL FRAMEWORK.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that human rights initiatives
can be undertaken on a multilateral basis, such as the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which established
a regional framework for discussing human rights, scientific and
educational cooperation, and economic and trade issues.
(b) SENSE
OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress that
the United Sates should explore the possibility of a regional human
rights dialogue with North Korea that is modeled on the Helsinki
process, engaging all countries in the region in a common commit-
ment to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
SEC. 107. SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA.
(a) SPECIAL ENVOY.—The President shall appoint a special
envoy for human rights in North Korea within the Department
of State (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’).
The Special Envoy should be a person of recognized distinction
in the field of human rights.
(b) CENTRAL OBJECTIVE.—The central objective of the Special
Envoy is to coordinate and promote efforts to improve respect
for the fundamental human rights of the people of North Korea.
(c) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special Envoy shall—
(1) engage in discussions with North Korean officials
regarding human rights;
(2) support international efforts to promote human rights
and political freedoms in North Korea, including coordination
and dialogue between the United States and the United
Nations, the European Union, North Korea, and the other
countries in Northeast Asia;
(3) consult with non-governmental organizations who have
attempted to address human rights in North Korea;
(4) make recommendations regarding the funding of activi-
ties authorized in section 102;
(5) review strategies for improving protection of human
rights in North Korea, including technical training and
exchange programs; and
(6) develop an action plan for supporting implementation
of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights Resolution
2004/13.
(d) REPORT ON ACTIVITIES.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually for the subsequent
5 year-period, the Special Envoy shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the activities undertaken in
the preceding 12 months under subsection (c).
President.
Appointment.
22 USC 7817.
22 USC 7816.
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118 STAT. 1293
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
TITLE II—ASSISTING NORTH KOREANS
IN NEED
SEC. 201. REPORT ON UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and in each of the 2 years thereafter, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, in conjunction with the Secretary of State, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
describes—
(1) all activities to provide humanitarian assistance inside
North Korea, and to North Koreans outside of North Korea,
that receive United States funding;
(2) any improvements in humanitarian transparency, moni-
toring, and access inside North Korea during the previous
1-year period, including progress toward meeting the conditions
identified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 202(b); and
(3) specific efforts to secure improved humanitarian trans-
parency, monitoring, and access inside North Korea made by
the United States and United States grantees, including the
World Food Program, during the previous 1-year period.
(b) FORM.—The information required by subsection (a)(1) may
be provided in classified form if necessary.
SEC. 202. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED INSIDE NORTH KOREA.
(a) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE THROUGH NONGOVERNMENTAL
AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.—It is the sense of the Con-
gress that—
(1) at the same time that Congress supports the provision
of humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea on
humanitarian grounds, such assistance also should be provided
and monitored so as to minimize the possibility that such
assistance could be diverted to political or military use, and
to maximize the likelihood that it will reach the most vulnerable
North Koreans;
(2) significant increases above current levels of United
States support for humanitarian assistance provided inside
North Korea should be conditioned upon substantial improve-
ments in transparency, monitoring, and access to vulnerable
populations throughout North Korea; and
(3) the United States should encourage other countries
that provide food and other humanitarian assistance to North
Korea to do so through monitored, transparent channels, rather
than through direct, bilateral transfers to the Government of
North Korea.
(b) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF NORTH
KOREA.—It is the sense of Congress that—
(1) United States humanitarian assistance to any depart-
ment, agency, or entity of the Government of North Korea
shall—
(A) be delivered, distributed, and monitored according
to internationally recognized humanitarian standards;
(B) be provided on a needs basis, and not used as
a political reward or tool of coercion;
(C) reach the intended beneficiaries, who should be
informed of the source of the assistance; and
22 USC 7832.
22 USC 7831.
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118 STAT. 1294
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
(D) be made available to all vulnerable groups in North
Korea, no matter where in the country they may be located;
and
(2) United States nonhumanitarian assistance to North
Korea shall be contingent on North Korea’s substantial progress
toward—
(A) respect for the basic human rights of the people
of North Korea, including freedom of religion;
(B) providing for family reunification between North
Koreans and their descendants and relatives in the United
States;
(C) fully disclosing all information regarding citizens
of Japan and the Republic of Korea abducted by the
Government of North Korea;
(D) allowing such abductees, along with their families,
complete and genuine freedom to leave North Korea and
return to the abductees’ original home countries;
(E) reforming the North Korean prison and labor camp
system, and subjecting such reforms to independent inter-
national monitoring; and
(F) decriminalizing political expression and activity.
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Agency for Inter-
national Development shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report describing compliance with this section.
SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH KOREA.
(a) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized to provide assist-
ance to support organizations or persons that provide humanitarian
assistance to North Koreans who are outside of North Korea without
the permission of the Government of North Korea.
(b) TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance provided under sub-
section (a) should be used to provide—
(1) humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees,
defectors, migrants, and orphans outside of North Korea, which
may include support for refugee camps or temporary settle-
ments; and
(2) humanitarian assistance to North Korean women out-
side of North Korea who are victims of trafficking, as defined
in section 103(14) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(14)), or are in danger of being traf-
ficked.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to funds otherwise available
for such purposes, there are authorized to be appropriated
to the President $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005
through 2008 to carry out this section.
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are author-
ized to remain available until expended.
President.
22 USC 7833.
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118 STAT. 1295
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
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
22 USC 7842.
22 USC 7841.
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118 STAT. 1296
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
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
22 USC 7844.
22 USC 7843.
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118 STAT. 1297
PUBLIC LAW 108–333—OCT. 18, 2004
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4011:
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 108–478, Pt. 1 (Comm. on International Relations).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 150 (2004):
July 21, considered and passed House.
Sept. 28, considered and passed Senate, amended.
Oct. 4, House concurred in Senate amendment.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 40 (2004):
Oct. 18, Presidential statement.
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.
Approved October 18, 2004.
President.
22 USC 7845.
VerDate 11-MAY-2000
08:28 Nov 10, 2005
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