22 U.S.C. § 7844 — United Nations High Commissioner for

Page 2020 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 7842 unclassified form. All or part of the information required by subsection (b)(6) may be provided in classified form, if necessary. (Pub. L. 108–333, title III, § 301, Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1295.) § 7842. Eligibility for refugee or asylum consider- ation (a) Purpose The purpose of this section is to clarify that North Koreans are not barred from eligibility for refugee status or asylum in the United States on account of any legal right to citizen- ship they may enjoy under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. It is not intended in any way to prejudice whatever rights to citizenship North Koreans may enjoy under the Constitu- tion of the Republic of Korea, or to apply to former North Korean nationals who have availed themselves of those rights. (b) Treatment of nationals of North Korea For purposes of eligibility for refugee status under section 1157 of title 8, or for asylum under section 1158 of title 8, a national of the Demo- cratic People’s Republic of Korea shall not be considered a national of the Republic of Korea. (Pub. L. 108–333, title III, § 302, Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1295.) § 7843. Facilitating submission of applications for admission as a refugee The Secretary of State shall undertake to fa- cilitate the submission of applications under section 1157 of title 8 by citizens of North Korea seeking protection as refugees (as defined in sec- tion 1101(a)(42) of title 8). (Pub. L. 108–333, title III, § 303, Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1296.) § 7844. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (a) Actions in China It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Government of China has obligated itself to provide the United Nations High Com- missioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with unimpeded access to North Koreans inside its borders to enable the UNHCR to determine whether they are refugees and whether they require assistance, pursuant to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and Article III, paragraph 5 of the 1995 Agreement on the Upgrading of the UNHCR Mission in the People’s Republic of China to UNHCR Branch Office in the Peo- ple’s Republic of China (referred to in this sec- tion as the ‘‘UNHCR Mission Agreement’’); (2) the United States, other UNHCR donor governments, and UNHCR should persistently and at the highest levels continue to urge the Government of China to abide by its previous commitments to allow UNHCR unimpeded ac- cess to North Korean refugees inside China; (3) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out its mandate to protect refugees, should liberally employ as professionals or Experts on Mission persons with significant experience in humanitarian assistance work among dis- placed North Koreans in China; (4) the UNHCR, in order to effectively carry out its mandate to protect refugees, should liberally contract with appropriate nongovern- mental organizations that have a proven record of providing humanitarian assistance to displaced North Koreans in China; (5) the UNHCR should pursue a multilateral agreement to adopt an effective ‘‘first asy- lum’’ policy that guarantees safe haven and assistance to North Korean refugees; and (6) should the Government of China begin ac- tively fulfilling its obligations toward North Korean refugees, all countries, including the United States, and relevant international or- ganizations should increase levels of humani- tarian assistance provided inside China to help defray costs associated with the North Korean refugee presence. (b) Arbitration proceedings It is further the sense of Congress that— (1) if the Government of China continues to refuse to provide the UNHCR with access to North Koreans within its borders, the UNHCR should initiate arbitration proceedings pursu- ant to Article XVI of the UNHCR Mission Agreement and appoint an arbitrator for the UNHCR; and (2) because access to refugees is essential to the UNHCR mandate and to the purpose of a UNHCR branch office, a failure to assert those arbitration rights in present circumstances would constitute a significant abdication by the UNHCR of one of its core responsibilities. (Pub. L. 108–333, title III, § 304, Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1296.) § 7845. Annual reports (a) Immigration and refugee information Not later than 1 year after October 18, 2004, and every 12 months thereafter through 2022, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Home- land Security shall submit a joint report to the appropriate congressional committees and the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate on the operation of this subchapter during the previous year, which shall include the following: (1) The number of aliens who are nationals or citizens of North Korea who applied for po- litical asylum and the number who were granted political asylum. (2) The number of aliens who are nationals or citizens of North Korea who applied for ref- ugee status and the number who were granted refugee status. (3) A detailed description of the measures undertaken by the Secretary of State to carry out section 7843 of this title, including coun- try-specific information with respect to United States efforts to secure the coopera- tion and permission of the governments of countries in East and Southeast Asia to facili- tate United States processing of North Kore- ans seeking protection as refugees. The infor- mation required under this paragraph shall be provided in unclassified form, with a classified annex, if necessary.