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05 October 2004

Lawmaker Urges House Support for North Korean Human Rights Act

Act calls for regional dialogue, special envoy on human rights in N. Korea

Rep. James A. Leach, chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, urged the full House of Representatives to pass legislation that would help promote human rights in North Korea.

In remarks delivered on the House floor October 4, the Republican congressman from Iowa urged his colleagues to support H.R. 4011, the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004. The bill, approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate last week, calls for the United States to explore the possibility of a regional dialogue on human rights in North Korea and the appointment of a special envoy on human rights in North Korea within the State Department.

The bill also enhances the discretion of the Executive Branch by recasting conditions on assistance to the North Korean government as a sense of Congress provision.

According to Leach, this bipartisan legislation "aims to promote international cooperation on human rights and refugee protection, and increased transparency in the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea."

The bill authorizes funds for programs to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, a market economy, and freedom of information. It also authorizes increased funding for assistance to North Koreans outside of North Korea, including refugees, orphans, and trafficking victims.

Leach emphasized that the legislation is "a purely humanitarian endeavor; there are no hidden agendas related to geo-strategic concerns and strategies."

Quoting the House International Relations Committee's report on the bill, Leach said that, while H.R. 4011 "highlights numerous egregious abuses, the [Congress] remains willing to recognize progress in the future, and hopes for such an opportunity."

The bill also makes clear the United States and the international community are prepared "to help defray the costs associated with the North Korean migrant presence when China begins fulfilling its obligations as a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention," the congressman said.

Acknowledging the suffering of millions of North Koreans under the Pyongyang regime, Leach said H.R. 4011 is "a responsible, creative approach to an ongoing human tragedy."

Following is the text of Leach's remarks, as provided by his office:

(begin text)

Statement of Rep. James A. Leach
Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
10/4/04 floor consideration of H.R. 4011
The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H.R. 4011, the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004. As approved unanimously by the Senate last week, the bill contains three modest changes from the text passed by this body in July. First, it expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should explore the possibility of a regional dialogue on human rights in North Korea. Second, it mandates the appointment of a special envoy on human rights in North Korea within the State Department. Finally, it enhances the discretion of the Executive Branch by recasting conditions on assistance to the North Korean government as a sense of Congress provision. I deeply appreciate the efforts of the Senate to ensure that the 108th Congress speaks with a unanimous, bipartisan voice on these issues of shared concern. In this connection, I would like to express my gratitude to Senators Brownback, Bayh, Lugar, and Biden, and their capable staff members.

During the past two and a half years, the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific has received testimony from a number of North Koreans who have survived some of the gravest rigors of the human condition. Their accounts buttress the growing awareness that the people of North Korea have endured some of the most acute humanitarian traumas of our time.

Inside North Korea, they suffer at the hands of a totalitarian dynasty that permits no dissent and strictly curtails freedoms of speech, press, religion, and assembly. The regime maintains a brutal system of prison camps that house an estimated 200,000 political inmates who are subjected to slave labor, torture, and even lethal chemical experimentation. Since the collapse of the centralized agricultural system in the 1990s, more than 2,000,000 North Koreans are estimated to have died of starvation.

North Koreans outside of North Korea are also uniquely vulnerable. Many thousands are hiding inside China, which currently refuses to allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to evaluate and identify genuine refugees among the North Korean migrant population. China forcibly returns North Koreans to North Korea, where they routinely face imprisonment and torture, and sometimes execution. Inside China, North Korean women and girls are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Provoked by these crises, this broadly bipartisan legislation aims to promote international cooperation on human rights and refugee protection, and increased transparency in the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of North Korea.

On the human rights front, this bill underscores the importance of human rights issues in future negotiations with North Korea. It authorizes funds for programs to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, a market economy, and freedom of information. It also urges additional North Korea-specific attention by appropriate UN human rights authorities.

On the humanitarian front, the bill authorizes increased funding for assistance to North Koreans outside of North Korea, including refugees, orphans, and trafficking victims. It endorses, but also seeks greater transparency for, the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid inside North Korea. Finally, it outlines human rights and humanitarian principles that should govern future, direct aid to the North Korean government.

In terms of refugee protection, the bill requires a formal clarification of U.S. policy and affirms the eligibility of North Koreans to seek protection as refugees under U.S. law. It also urges the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to use all available means to gain access to North Koreans in China. 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 shared international solutions to their profound humanitarian dilemma.

I want to remove any misapprehension that overseas audiences may have about the intent, content, or motives behind this bill. Unequivocally I would state: This legislation is a purely humanitarian endeavor; there are no hidden agendas related to geo-strategic concerns and strategies. Indeed, the Committee of jurisdiction is deeply indebted to the concerns expressed by thousands of American citizens of Korean descent, who are convinced that for too long the international community has largely ignored the plight of their brethren in the North. As explained in the Report of the Committee on International Relations: "H.R. 4011 is motivated by a genuine desire for improvements in human rights, refugee protection, and humanitarian transparency. It is not a pretext for a hidden strategy to provoke regime collapse or to seek collateral advantage in ongoing strategic negotiations. While the legislation highlights numerous egregious abuses, the [Congress] remains willing to recognize progress in the future, and hopes for such an opportunity."

Similarly, with regard to China, this bill is not solely critical, it is also aspirational. It makes clear that the United States and the international community stand ready to provide more assistance to help defray the costs associated with the North Korean migrant presence when China begins fulfilling its obligations as a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. We genuinely hope for that opportunity.

I would like to thank my colleagues for their strong, bipartisan endorsement of this bill. I also would like to thank the many nongovernmental and civic organizations who have informed and supported this legislation. In this regard, the pivotal effort of the North Korea Freedom Coalition -- a nonpartisan group of more than 40 NGOs -- deserves particular mention. Finally, I would like to note again the contributions of Senator Sam Brownback, whose leadership in the other body has inspired House action on these issues. And in this body, the attention and insight of Representatives Lantos, Faleomavaega, Berman, Ackerman, and Wexler on the Democratic side, and Representatives Cox, Royce, and Chris Smith on this side of the aisle are deeply appreciated.

H.R. 4011 is a responsible, creative approach to an ongoing human tragedy, and deserves our unanimous support. I reserve the balance of my time.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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