*EPF403 07/22/2004
Text: House Bill Aims to Improve Human Rights Situation in North Korea
(Legislation has "no hidden agenda," Rep. Leach says) (1320)

The House of Representatives passed by unanimous voice vote on July 21 H.R. 4011, the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004.

In a statement released the same day, Representative Jim Leach, the chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific and the sponsor of the bill, called the measure "a responsible, creative approach to an ongoing human tragedy."

Leach, a Republican from Iowa, said the act is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of testimony to his subcommittee from North Koreans who had survived North Korea's brutal regime.

These survivors described Kim Jung Il's "totalitarian dynasty," which permits no dissent and strictly curtails freedoms of speech, press, religion, and assembly. "The regime," Leach reported, "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." Starvation, he added, is rampant throughout most of the country.

Leach was careful to explain what the new legislation would and would not do.

Leach said the act:

-- 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.

-- authorizes funds for programs to promote human rights, democracy, rule of law, a market economy and freedom of information.

-- urges additional North Korea-specific attention by appropriate U.N. human rights authorities.

-- authorizes increased funding for assistance to North Koreans outside North Korea, including refugees, orphans and trafficking victims.

-- endorses, but also seeks greater transparency for, the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid inside North Korea.

-- conditions direct assistance to the North Korean government on human rights and transparency benchmarks, but allows the president to waive those restrictions for national security purposes.

-- requires, in terms of refugee protection, a formal clarification of U.S. policy and affirms the eligibility of North Koreans to seek protection as refugees under U.S. law.

-- urges the U.N. high commissioner for refugees to use all available means to gain access to North Koreans in China.

Leach emphasized that H.R. 4011 has "no hidden agenda" and "is a purely humanitarian endeavor."

The congressman said the legislation "is not a pretext for a hidden strategy to provoke regime collapse or to seek collateral advantage in ongoing strategic negotiations."

Additionally, even though China has not lived up to its international obligations regarding the North Korean refugees who seek safety within its borders, the bill's references to China are "not solely critical" but "aspirational," Leach said.

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," Leach said.

Following is the text of Leach's prepared statement:

(begin text)

Statement of Rep. James A. Leach
Floor consideration of H.R. 4011
The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
[Washington, D.C.]
July 21, 2004

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

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 greatest 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, the 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 would condition direct assistance to the North Korean government on human rights and transparency benchmarks, but allows the President to waive those restrictions for national security purposes.

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 international solutions to their profound humanitarian dilemma.

I want to remove any danger that overseas audiences may misunderstand the intent or content of this bill. Allow me to state unequivocally: This legislation is a purely humanitarian endeavor; there is no hidden agenda. 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 also.

I would like to thank my colleagues for their strong, bipartisan endorsement of this bill. In particular, I would like express my gratitude to the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on the Judiciary for their expert consideration, and to the House Leadership for promptly scheduling this important legislation. Finally, I would like to thank Senator Sam Brownback, whose leadership in the other body has both informed and inspired House action on these issues.

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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