| |
 |
|
Menu |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| |
News Articles
Lawmaker Urges Faster Implementation of N. Korean Human Rights
Act
Leach hopes for improvement with appointment of
special U.S. envoy
International Information Programs
|
[October 28, 2005]
Representative James Leach, chairman of the House International
Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, is urging the
Bush administration to speed implementation of the North Korean
Human Rights Act.
At a joint hearing of his subcommittee and the House
International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human
Rights and International Relations October 27, Leach said the
United States has yet to receive a single application for
refugee admission filed by a North Korean in the year since the
measure became law. He said this situation was due to
insufficient high-level diplomatic efforts.
"We are aware of cases where North Korean refugees hiding in
third countries have approached U.S. diplomatic posts,
unsuccessfully seeking assistance in relocating to the U.S. as
refugees," he said. "Thus, an annual total of zero applications
and zero admissions is clearly unacceptable."
Leach expressed hope that, with the recent appointment of the
Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea, the issue of
assistance for North Korean refugees may begin to receive more
attention and action. The act requires the United States to
share the burden of accepting North Korean refugees, Leach said,
noting that the United States has the largest refugee
resettlement program in the world and is home to the largest
ethnic Korean population outside of Northeast Asia. (See related
article.)
Among the witnesses who testified at the October 27 hearing were
Kelu Chao, associate director for language programming at the
Voice of America; Daniel Southerland, vice president for
programming at Radio Free Asia; two North Korean refugees; and
Tim Peters, the founder and director of a Christian relief
project based in Seoul, South Korea, called "Helping Hands
Korea."
For more information on U.S. policy, see
U.S. Policy Toward North Korea and
Humanitarian Assistance and Refugees.
Following is the text of Leach's remarks:
Remarks by Rep. James A. Leach
Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Hearing on "An Update on Implementation of the
North Korean Human Rights Act"
October 27, 2005
I would like to thank Chairman Smith for taking the initiative
in calling today's joint hearing. The plight of North Koreans
both inside and outside their country of origin was the primary
motivation for the North Korean Human Rights Act, which became
law one year ago this month. I am pleased that today's meeting
will provide this Committee with its first opportunity to hear
directly from some of the most vulnerable members of that
population -- North Korean women who are trafficked and abused
in third countries, primarily in the People's Republic of China.
Increased international attention to this circumstance will be a
necessary step toward breaking the cycle of exploitation.
I regret to note that implementation of the Act by the
Administration during the past twelve months has been
exceedingly slow, particularly with regard to refugee assistance
and resettlement. Indeed, I am not aware of any substantive
progress since our last oversight hearing, exactly six months
ago. The responses to our questions at that hearing indicated
that the United States had not yet undertaken the high-level
diplomatic efforts with third countries necessary to allow us to
proceed with the quiet processing of even some limited number of
intending refugees.
This was underscored last week, when the Department of State
reported to Congress that "[t]here were no applications for
refugee admission to the United States filed by North Koreans"
during the past year. While this is a true statement, it does
not justly describe the underlying facts: We are aware of cases
where North Korean refugees hiding in third countries have
approached U.S. diplomatic posts, unsuccessfully seeking
assistance in relocating to the U.S. as refugees. Furthermore,
the report demonstrates inadequate regard for the requirements
of current law: Section 303 of the Act imposes an affirmative
obligation on the Department of State to "facilitate the
submission of [refugee] applications" by North Koreans. Thus, an
annual total of zero applications and zero admissions is clearly
unacceptable.
This fact has not gone unnoticed in the overseas press, or by
South Korean officials who have asked me on multiple occasions
whether the United States is serious in its intent to share the
burdens of assisting North Korean refugees. The matter should be
settled: The law commits us to sharing those burdens. The United
States has the largest refugee resettlement program in the
world, by a significant factor. We also are home to the largest
and most successful ethnic Korean population outside of
Northeast Asia. The fact that we still have not admitted any
North Korean refugees flouts our values and our law.
With the belated appointment of the Special Envoy for Human
Rights in North Korea, we are hopeful that these issues may
begin to receive the attention and action intended by the
Congress when we enacted Public Law 108-333 over a year ago.
In closing, it must be understood that the Congress did not
intend the North Korean Human Rights Act as a rhetorical
exercise. The law was enacted to promote respect for human
rights, transparency in the delivery of humanitarian aid, and
protection for North Korean refugees. It granted considerable
discretion to Executive Branch agencies in pursuing those ends.
In a government of laws, the Executive clearly has obligations
it has yet to meet. This is disconcerting, to say the least.
Again, I would like to thank Chairman Smith for his longstanding
leadership on human rights and refugee issues. I look forward to
the testimony of our witnesses.
>> Go back to main News Article page
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
