Bills
| 3.23.22

Reauthorizing Programs Aimed at Promoting Human Rights and Democracy in North Korea (H.R. 2061)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 2061?

(Updated August 9, 2019)

This bill was enacted on July 20, 2018

This bill would reauthorize authorities aimed at promoting human rights and democracy refugee protection, and freedom of information in North Korea through 2022. It would also reauthorize the U.S. Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues and continue reporting aimed at increasing transparency for any food aid provided to North Korea. The Broadcasting Board of Governors would be required to report on whether the .goal of 12 hours per day of broadcasting to North Korea is being met, and prepare a strategy to overcome such communication with the North Korean people through unrestricted, unmonitored, and inexpensive electronic means.

Argument in favor

Ongoing programs aimed at promoting human rights and democracy in North Korea should be reauthorized through 2022 to show the North Korean people we see and care about their suffering.

Argument opposed

The situation with North Korea has reached a point where efforts by the U.S. to promote human rights and democracy won’t make a difference in the lives of the North Korean people.

Impact

Programs aimed at promoting human rights and democracy in North Korea; the Broadcasting Board of Governors; and the federal government.

Cost of H.R. 2061

The CBO estimates that enacting this bill would cost, on net, $9 million over the 2018-2022 period with reporting requirements accounting for less than $500,000 of the total.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced this bill to reauthorize programs promoting human rights in North Korea:

“Under Kim Jong Un’s brutal regime, North Koreans continue to be exploited and trafficked in the regime’s harsh labor system while dissidents are sent to work camps and subjected to starvation and torture. Without rule of law, justice, or freedom of speech, religion, press, and assembly, North Koreans live in constant fear of arrest, disappearance, and execution. As the Kim regime’s dangerous behavior increases, it is also essential that we promote North Korean human rights as an integral part of addressing the North Korean security threat. Instead of seeking to promote the well-being of its citizens, the regime in Pyongyang pours all of its available resources into illicit activity like its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.”

Lead cosponsor Eliot Engel (D-NY) added:

“The Kim Regime in North Korea gives us no shortage of concerns, from its pursuit of illegal nuclear and conventional weapons, including ballistic missiles, to the alleged use of banned chemical weapons in a major regional airport. But we should never lose sight of another major problem: the Kim regime’s crimes against the rights and dignity of their own people. The people of North Korea have suffered immeasurably under the oppression of the Kim family. This measure, which authorizes support for North Korean refugees, would send a signal to all the people of North Korea that we see their suffering and our doors are open.”

This legislation passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee on a voice vote, and has the support of 14 bipartisan cosponsors including eight Democrats and six Republicans.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: narvikk / iStock)