[108th Congress Public Law 333]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[DOCID: f:publ333.108]
[[Page 118 STAT. 1287]]
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. <<NOTE: Oct. 18, 2004 - [H.R.
4011]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: North Korean
Human Rights Act of 2004. 22 USC 7801 note.>>
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. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7801.>> FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) <<NOTE: Kim Jong Il.>> 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) <<NOTE: Kim Il Sung.>> The Government of North Korea
subjects all its citizens to systematic, intensive political and
ideological indoctrination
[[Page 118 STAT. 1288]]
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
punishment 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 reactionary printed matter''.
(6) The Government of North Korea executes political
prisoners, opponents of the regime, some repatriated defectors,
some members of underground churches, and others, sometimes at
public meetings attended by workers, students, and
schoolchildren.
(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 production 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
testimony 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
religious 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
children 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 undoubtedly
saved many North Korean lives and there have been minor
improvements in transparency relating to the distribution of
such assistance in North Korea, the Government of North Korea
continues to deny the World Food Program forms
[[Page 118 STAT. 1289]]
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 obligations 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 Chinese law or
international standards.
(22) <<NOTE: Kim Dong-shik.>> 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 refugees, 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.
[[Page 118 STAT. 1290]]
SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7802.>> 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
transparency 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 government.
SEC. 5. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7803.>> 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. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7811.>> 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 parties in Northeast Asia.
SEC. 102. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7812.>> SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
PROGRAMS.
(a) <<NOTE: President. Grants.>> Support.--The President is
authorized to provide grants to private, nonprofit organizations to
support programs that promote 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.
[[Page 118 STAT. 1291]]
(2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are
authorized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 103. RADIO BROADCASTING TO NORTH <<NOTE: 22 USC 7813.>> 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 current 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
broadcasting 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. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7814.>> ACTIONS TO PROMOTE FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION.
(a) <<NOTE: President.>> 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
authorized to remain available until expended.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
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 <<NOTE: 22 USC
7815.>> 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
[[Page 118 STAT. 1292]]
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions,
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 <<NOTE: 22 USC 7816.>> 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 commitment to respect human rights
and fundamental freedoms.
SEC. 107. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7817.>> SPECIAL ENVOY ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH
KOREA.
(a) <<NOTE: President. Appointment.>> 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 activities
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).
[[Page 118 STAT. 1293]]
TITLE II--ASSISTING NORTH KOREANS IN NEED
SEC. 201. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7831.>> 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,
monitoring, 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
transparency, 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 <<NOTE: 22 USC 7832.>> KOREA.
(a) Humanitarian Assistance Through Nongovernmental and
International Organizations.--It is the sense of the Congress 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 improvements 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 department,
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
[[Page 118 STAT. 1294]]
(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
international 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 International
Development shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report describing compliance with this section.
SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE PROVIDED OUTSIDE OF NORTH <<NOTE: 22 USC
7833.>> KOREA.
(a) <<NOTE: President.>> Assistance.--The President is authorized to
provide assistance 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 subsection (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 settlements;
and
(2) humanitarian assistance to North Korean women outside 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 trafficked.
(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
authorized to remain available until expended.
[[Page 118 STAT. 1295]]
TITLE III--PROTECTING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES
SEC. 301. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7841.>> UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD REFUGEES
AND DEFECTORS.
(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. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7842.>> 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 Constitution 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
[[Page 118 STAT. 1296]]
People's Republic of Korea shall not be considered a national of the
Republic of Korea.
SEC. 303. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7843.>> FACILITATING SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS
FOR ADMISSION AS A REFUGEE.
The Secretary of State shall undertake to facilitate the submission
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. <<NOTE: 22 USC 7844.>> 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 continue 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 Congress
that--
(1) if the Government of China continues to refuse to
provide 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
[[Page 118 STAT. 1297]]
failure to assert those arbitration rights in present
circumstances would constitute a significant abdication by the
UNHCR of one of its core responsibilities.
SEC. 305. ANNUAL <<NOTE: 22 USC 7845.>> REPORTS.
(a) Immigration Information.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and every 12 months thereafter 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) <<NOTE: President.>> Countries of Particular Concern.--The
President shall include in each annual report on proposed refugee
admission pursuant to section 207(d) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(d)), information about specific measures taken to
facilitate access to the United States refugee program for individuals
who have fled countries of particular concern for violations of
religious freedom, identified pursuant to section 402(b) of the
International 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.
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.
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