| |
 |
|
Menu |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| |
News Articles
U.S. lawmakers push Bush administration to help N. Korean
refugees
[January 31, 2006]
(Kyodo) _ A bipartisan group of nine senior U.S. lawmakers has
sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging the
administration to establish an asylum policy for North Korean
refugees, according to a copy of the letter obtained Wednesday.
In the letter dated Tuesday, the lawmakers also accused
President George W. Bush's administration of under-funding
legislation that mandates the processing of refugee
applications.
"Not one North Korean has been offered asylum or refugee status
in the 16 months since unanimous passage of the legislation,"
said the letter from lawmakers, who are members of the House of
Representatives International Relations Committee and the
Senate.
The lawmakers urged Rice to develop a policy "as was done in the
1970s for thousands of Vietnamese 'boat people.'"
The letter also asked Rice to push China to "end repatriation of
North Korean refugees and jailing of humanitarian workers," and
encouraged Bush to raise the issue when Chinese President Hu
Jintao visits the United States in April.
On Feb. 16, in testimony before the House International
Relations Committee, Rice said the State Department, along with
the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, is currently
reviewing its policy on accepting North Korean refugees.
Mongolia and South Korea now accept North Korean refugees, Rice
said, but other countries should be involved as well. Rice also
urged the international community to pay closer attention to the
issue of human rights in North Korea.
A U.S. special envoy for human rights in North Korea, Jay
Lefkowitz, in December also called on the international
community to do more to support human rights in the closed
country, and said the United States was working on ways to allow
North Korean refugees to seek asylum.
New York-based international organization Human Rights Watch
criticized China last month for refusing to help North Korean
refugees. It is widely believed that the Chinese government
returns refugees to North Korea.
The North Korean Human Rights Act was signed into law in October
2004 and required the secretary of state to "facilitate the
submission of applications" of North Koreans seeking refugee
protection. It also created the position of U.S. special envoy
for human rights in North Korea, among other things.
House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, and
ranking Democrat Tom Lantos were among the signers of the letter
to Rice, as was presidential hopeful and Republican Sen. Sam
Brownback.
>> Go back to main News Article page
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
