North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Signed into U.S. law by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on October 18, 2004, the North Korean Human Rights Act is intended to promote human rights and freedom to
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n refugees by: #Providing humanitarian assistance to North Koreans inside North Korea; #Providing grants to private,
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s to promote
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
,
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
, rule of law, and the development of a market economy in North Korea; #Increasing the availability of information inside North Korea; #Providing humanitarian or
legal assistance Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to cou ...
to North Koreans who have fled North Korea.


Act

The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 passed the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
on September 28, 2004, after a lengthy amendment process, and, with no further changes, passed the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
on October 4. It was signed by President Bush on October 18, 2004. According to a statement released by the White House on October 21, 2004, the "Act provides
he U.S. He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...
with useful new tools to address the deplorable human rights situation in North Korea by focusing .S.efforts to help both those who flee the regime and those who are trapped inside the country." According to a March 23, 2004, House
resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
, the intent of the Act is " promote human rights and freedom in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and for other purposes." The Act earmarked $24 million a year and made North Koreans eligible for
political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...
in the U.S. The Act contains several statutes about promoting the
Human Rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
of North Koreans, assisting North Koreans in need, and protecting North Korean Refugees. Some are listed as following: Sec. 102. support for human rights and democracy programs, Sec. 105.
United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of ...
, Sec. 107. special envoy on human rights in North Korea, Sec. 202(a) Humanitarian assistance through Nongovernmental and
International Organizations An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...
. Sec. 302. Eligibility for refugee or asylum consideration Sec. 302(a) of the Act states that the purpose of the Act "is not intended in any way to prejudice whatever rights to citizenship North Koreans may enjoy under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea." However, interesting and potentially significant wording found in Sec. 302(b) states that "a national of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea shall not be considered a national of the Republic of Korea." Previously, North Koreans had been treated as citizens of South Korea. On September 23, 2008, the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
extended the Act for four more years. The North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2008 was signed by President Bush on October 7, 2008. There were some revisions in this newest iteration of the Act, including elevating the post of U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights to full ambassador while halving the funding for programs to promote human rights to $2 million from the initial $4 million.


History of the North Korean Human Rights Act

The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 was originally sponsored by U.S. Senator
Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...
in response to "one of the worst human rights disasters in the world." According to the Department of United States, 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. A large diaspora of refugees began fleeing North Korea in the mid-1990s due to ongoing privation, intermittent starvation, and political repression. Some have been resettled to South Korea, the United States, and other countries, but a large, unknown number remain in China and other East Asian nations. Although not stated, but according to Brownback, the Act "calls on the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
(UNHCR) to demand access to North Korean refugees in China, and urges heightened diplomatic pressure on China to reverse its policy of capturing and repatriating North Korean refugees. China must stop turning a blind eye to the suffering, persecution and execution of the citizens of its neighbor." 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 The Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees is a key treaty in international refugee law. It entered into force on 4 October 1967, and 146 countries are parties. The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees restric ...
, China forcibly returns North Korean refugees back to North Korea where they face torture and imprisonment, and execution.


Implementation

The law established an office at the State Department focused on North Korean human rights. The legislation (1) authorized up to $20 million for each of the fiscal years 2005-2008 for assistance to North Korean refugees, $2 million for promoting human rights and democracy in North Korea and $2 million to promote freedom of information inside North Korea. (2) asserted that North Koreans are eligible for U.S. refugee status and instructs the State Department to facilitate the submission of applications by North Koreans seeking protection as refugees; and (3) required the President to appoint a Special Envoy to promote human rights in North Korea. In the
George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic ...
, the office was run by Special Envoy
Jay Lefkowitz Jay Lefkowitz (born 20 November 1962) is an American lawyer. He is a senior partner at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm, and he also served as President George W. Bush's Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea. Career Lefkowitz is a graduat ...
. At the conclusion of the administration, Lefkowitz issued a final report on developments since the law's enactment. On May 5, 2006, the U.S. granted North Koreans for the first time since the Act was signed. The group, six unnamed North Koreans, arrived from an unnamed Southeast Asia country, and four women of which said that they had been victims of forced marriages. As of September 15, 2008, there have been 63 North Korean refugees who have been permitted to enter the United States, most notably the latest Kim Mi-ja (alias), who became the first North Korean defector to gain permanent residence in the U.S. without an interview. In January 2009, the United States had accepted 71 North Korean refugees for resettlement from undisclosed transit states. North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 called on the
Broadcasting Board of Governors The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information. It describes its mission, "vital to US nation ...
(BBG) to facilitate the unhindered dissemination of information in North Korea by increasing the amount of Korean-language broadcasts by Radio Free Asia RFA and
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
VOA. Content includes news briefs involving the Korean peninsula, interviews with North Korean defectors, and international commentary on events happening inside North Korea.


Reauthorization

Although there were criticisms about the pace of the executive branch implementation of the original law; the small number of resettlements of North Korean refugees and the slow processing of such refugees overseas, H.R. 5834 The North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act was presented to the President on September 26, 2008 and was signed into effect on October 7, 2008. The primary focus of the bill is to increase the United States' involvement in the assistance of North Korean refugees. The bill mentions several observations specifically regarding the minimal amount of progress that has taken place since the passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act 2004. The NKHRA was extended in 2008 highlighting the full-time position of the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues. Robert R. King is the current Special Envoy who was appointed in August 2009. In 2012, NKHRA was extended until 2017 reaffirming China to halt repatriation of North Koreans. In its findings, Congress wrote that resettlement of North Koreans in the U.S. has risen and that they hope to make their resettlement program for North Koreans stronger.


See also

*
Human rights in North Korea The human rights record of North Korea is often considered to be the worst in the world and has been globally condemned, with the United Nations, the European Union and groups such as Human Rights Watch all critical of the country's record. Most ...
*
Law of the United States The law of the United States comprises many levels of Codification (law), codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution of the United States, Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the ...
*
North Korea–United States relations Relations between North Korea and the United States have been historically tense and hostile, as both countries have no diplomatic relations. The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang is the U.S. protecting power and provides limited consular services t ...


Notes


External links


Final Report of Jay Lefkowitz, Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea
*

* ttp://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h108-3573 H.R. 3573:108 North Korean Freedom Act of 2003(U.S. House of Representatives Bill, introduced 2003-11-21)
S. 1903:108 North Korean Freedom Act of 2003
(U.S. Senate Bill, introduced 2003-11-20)
H.R. 4011:108 North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
(U.S. House of Representatives Bill, introduced 2004-03-23) * *
Full Text of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004


{{authority control History of North Korea Korean migration United States foreign relations legislation Human rights in North Korea 2004 in North Korea North Korea–United States relations Acts of the 108th United States Congress Acts of the 110th United States Congress