22 U.S.C. § 7834 — Briefings on the welfare of North Korean

Page 2018 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 7832 1 See References in Text note below. § 7832. Assistance provided inside North Korea (a) Humanitarian assistance through nongovern- mental 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 pro- vided and monitored so as to minimize the possibility that such assistance could be di- verted 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 as- sistance provided inside North Korea should be conditioned upon substantial improvements in transparency, monitoring, and access to vul- nerable populations throughout North Korea; and (3) the United States should encourage other countries that provide food and other humani- tarian 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 Gov- ernment of North Korea shall— (A) be delivered, distributed, and mon- itored according to internationally recog- nized humanitarian standards; (B) be provided on a needs basis, and not used as a political reward or tool of coer- cion; (C) reach the intended beneficiaries, who should be informed of the source of the as- sistance; and (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 assist- ance 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 free- dom of religion; (B) providing for family reunification be- tween North Koreans and their descendants and relatives in the United States; (C) fully disclosing all information regard- ing 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 free- dom 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 re- forms to independent international moni- toring; and (F) decriminalizing political expression and activity. (c) Report Not later than 180 days after October 18, 2004, the Administrator of the Agency for Inter- national Development shall submit to the appro- priate congressional committees a report de- scribing compliance with this section. (Pub. L. 108–333, title II, § 202, Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1293.) § 7833. Assistance provided outside of North Korea (a) Assistance The President is authorized to provide assist- ance to support organizations or persons that provide humanitarian assistance to North Kore- ans 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 settle- ments; and (2) humanitarian assistance to North Korean women outside of North Korea who are victims of trafficking, as defined in section 7102(15) 1 of this title, 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 ap- propriated to the President $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2022 to carry out this section. (2) Availability Amounts appropriated pursuant to the au- thorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until ex- pended. (Pub. L. 108–333, title II, § 203, Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1294; Pub. L. 110–346, § 10, Oct. 7, 2008, 122 Stat. 3942; Pub. L. 112–172, § 9, Aug. 16, 2012, 126 Stat. 1309; Pub. L. 113–4, title XII, § 1212(b)(2)(B), Mar. 7, 2013, 127 Stat. 144; Pub. L. 115–198, § 7(e), July 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 1524.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 7102(15) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), was redesignated section 7102(17) of this title by Pub. L. 115–427, § 2(1), Jan. 9, 2019, 132 Stat. 5503. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–198 substituted ‘‘2018 through 2022’’ for ‘‘2013 through 2017’’. 2013—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 113–4 substituted ‘‘section 7102(15)’’ for ‘‘section 7102(14)’’. 2012—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 112–172 substituted ‘‘$5,000,000’’ for ‘‘$20,000,000’’ and ‘‘2013 through 2017’’ for ‘‘2005 through 2012’’. 2008—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 110–346 substituted ‘‘2012’’ for ‘‘2008’’. § 7834. Briefings on the welfare of North Korean children (a) In general The Secretary of State shall designate a rep- resentative to regularly brief the appropriate Page 2019 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 7841 congressional committees in an unclassified set- ting on United States Government efforts to ad- vocate for the best interests of North Korean children and children of one North Korean par- ent, including efforts to address, when appro- priate, the adoption of such children living out- side North Korea without parental care. (b) Contents The Secretary’s designee shall be prepared to address in each briefing the following topics: (1) The analysis of the Department of State of the challenges facing North Korean children residing outside North Korea and challenges facing children of one North Korean parent in other countries who are fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or de facto stateless per- sons. (2) Department of State efforts to advocate for the best interest of North Korean children residing outside North Korea or children of one North Korean parent living in other coun- tries who are fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or de facto stateless persons, includ- ing, when possible, efforts to address the im- mediate care and family reunification of these children, and, in individual cases where appro- priate, the adoption of eligible North Korean children living outside North Korea and chil- dren of one North Korean parent living outside North Korea. (3) Department of State efforts to develop a comprehensive strategy to address challenges that United States citizens would encounter in attempting to adopt, via intercountry adop- tion, North Korean-origin children residing in other countries or children of one North Ko- rean parent residing outside North Korea who are fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or de facto stateless persons, including efforts to overcome the complexities involved in de- termining jurisdiction for best interest deter- minations and adoption processing, if appro- priate, of those who habitually reside in a Hague country or a non-Hague country. (4) Department of State diplomatic efforts to encourage countries in which North Korean children or children of one North Korean par- ent are fleeing persecution or reside as de jure or de facto stateless persons to resolve issues of statelessness of North Koreans residing in that country. (5) Department of State efforts to work with the Government of the Republic of Korea to establish pilot programs that identify, provide for the immediate care of, and assist in the family reunification of North Korean children and children of one North Korean parent liv- ing within South Korea and other countries who are fleeing persecution or are living as de jure or de facto stateless persons. (Pub. L. 112–264, § 4, Jan. 14, 2013, 126 Stat. 2432.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION This section was enacted as part of the North Korean Child Welfare Act of 2012, and not as part of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITIONS Pub. L. 112–264, § 3, Jan. 14, 2013, 126 Stat. 2432, pro- vided that: ‘‘In this Act [enacting this section and pro- visions set out as a note under section 7801 of this title]: ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. ‘‘(2) HAGUE COUNTRY.—The term ‘Hague country’ means a country where the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter- country Adoption, done at The Hague May 29, 1993, has entered into force and is fully implemented. ‘‘(3) NON-HAGUE COUNTRY.—The term ‘non-Hague country’ means a country where the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, done at The Hague May 29, 1993, has not entered into force.’’ SUBCHAPTER III—PROTECTING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES § 7841. United States policy toward refugees and defectors (a) Report Not later than 120 days after October 18, 2004, 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 situa- tion 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 fac- ing North Korean refugees and migrants in hiding, particularly in China, and of the cir- cumstances 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 Ref- ugees, 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 protec- tion as refugees or asylum seekers and reset- tlement 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 Kore- ans with family connections to United States citizens; and (6) a description of the measures that the Secretary of State is taking to carry out sec- tion 7843 of this title. (c) Form The information required by paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (b) shall be provided in