North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
Encyclopedia
Signed into U.S. law
by President
George W. Bush
on October 18, 2004, the North Korean Human Rights Act is intended to make it easier for the United States to assist North Korea
n refugees by:
on September 28, 2004, after a lengthy amendment process. The amended version of the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives
on October 4 without further changes.
On October 18, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the North Korean Human Rights Act, which offered U.S. support for human rights groups in North Korea
and for refugees leaving the secretive state.
According to a statement released by the White House on October 21, 2004, the "Act provides [the U.S.] with useful new tools to address the deplorable human rights situation in North Korea by focusing [U.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
, the intent of the Act is "[t]o promote human rights and freedom in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and for other purposes."
The Act earmarked $124M a year for such causes and made North Koreans eligible for political asylum
in the United States.
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, which still technically claims sovereignty over the whole peninsula.
On September 23, 2008, the U.S. Congress
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.
Sam Brownback
in response to "one of the worst human rights disasters in the world." Although not stated, but according to Brownback, the Act "calls on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (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."
, the office was run by Special Envoy Jay Lefkowitz
. At the conclusion of the administration, Lefkowitz issued a final report on developments since the law's enactment. http://www.state.gov/g/senk/115268.htm
On May 5, 2006, six unnamed North Koreans were granted refugee status by the United States, the first time the U.S. accepted refugees from there since the North Korean Human Rights Act was signed in October 2004. The group, which arrived from an unnamed Southeast Asia nation, included four women who said that they had been the victim of forced marriages.
Current 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.
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 bill also extends the act from 2008 to 2012.
Full Text of the bill http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h5834/text
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on October 18, 2004, the North Korean Human Rights Act is intended to make it easier for the United States to assist North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n refugees by:
- Providing humanitarianHumanitarianismIn its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
assistance to North Koreans inside North Korea; - Providing grants to private, non-profit organizationNon-profit organizationNonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s to promote human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, democracyDemocracyDemocracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, rule of lawRule of lawThe rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
, and the development of a market economyMarket economyA market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
in North Korea; - Increasing the availability of informationCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
inside North Korea; - Providing humanitarian or legal assistanceLegal aidLegal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise 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 counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
to North Koreans who have fled North Korea.
The North Korean Human Rights Act
H.R. 4011, the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004, passed the U.S. SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on September 28, 2004, after a lengthy amendment process. The amended version of the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
on October 4 without further changes.
On October 18, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the North Korean Human Rights Act, which offered U.S. support for human rights groups in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and for refugees leaving the secretive state.
According to a statement released by the White House on October 21, 2004, the "Act provides [the U.S.] with useful new tools to address the deplorable human rights situation in North Korea by focusing [U.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 (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
, the intent of the Act is "[t]o promote human rights and freedom in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and for other purposes."
The Act earmarked $124M a year for such causes and made North Koreans eligible for political asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
in the United States.
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, which still technically claims sovereignty over the whole peninsula.
On September 23, 2008, the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
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. SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
in response to "one of the worst human rights disasters in the world." Although not stated, but according to Brownback, the Act "calls on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (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."
Implementation
The law established an office at the State Department focused on North Korean human rights. In the George W. Bush administrationGeorge W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
, the office was run by Special Envoy Jay Lefkowitz
Jay Lefkowitz
Jay Lefkowitz is an Orthodox Jewish American politician and lawyer. He is a senior partner at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm, and he also served as President Bush’s Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea.-Career:...
. At the conclusion of the administration, Lefkowitz issued a final report on developments since the law's enactment. http://www.state.gov/g/senk/115268.htm
On May 5, 2006, six unnamed North Koreans were granted refugee status by the United States, the first time the U.S. accepted refugees from there since the North Korean Human Rights Act was signed in October 2004. The group, which arrived from an unnamed Southeast Asia nation, included four women who said that they had been the victim of forced marriages.
Current 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.
Reauthorization
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.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 bill also extends the act from 2008 to 2012.
Full Text of the bill http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h5834/text
See also
- South Korea – United States relations
- North Korea – United States relations
- North Korean defectorsNorth Korean defectorsA number of individuals have defected from North Korea. Since the division of Korea after World War II and the end of the Korean War , many people have defected from North Korea, mainly for political, ideological, religious and economic reasons...
- List of Koreans
- Politics of North KoreaPolitics of North KoreaThe politics of North Korea take place within a nominally democratic multi-party system within the framework of the official state philosophy, Juche, a concept created by the founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il-sung, and his son and successor as leader, Kim Jong-il. In practice, North Korea...
- Human rights in North KoreaHuman rights in North KoreaThe human rights record of North Korea is extremely hard to fully assess due to the secretive and closed nature of the country. The North Korean government makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country and strictly monitors their activities when they do...
- List of Korea-related topics
- Law of the United StatesLaw of the United StatesThe law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
- Japanese law of "North Korean Human Rights Act" - :ja:拉致問題その他北朝鮮当局による人権侵害問題への対処に関する法律
External links
- Final Report of Jay Lefkowitz, Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea
- The North Korean Human Rights Act: Documents and Background Materials
- President George W. Bush's Statement on the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004
- 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)