Committee News
May 22, 2013
Ranking Member Eliot Engel Opening Statement at Markup of H.R. 850, Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013May 21, 2013
Ranking Member Eliot Engel Opening Statement at Hearing, "The Call for Economic Liberty in the Arab World"May 11, 2013
Engel Statement on Pakistan May 11 ElectionsApril 26, 2013
Ranking Member Eliot Engel Opening Statement at Hearing, “The FY 2014 Budget Request: U.S. Foreign Assistance Priorities and Strategy
Committee News
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Howard Berman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Introduce Bipartisan North Korean Human Rights Bill
The Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012 extends the 2004 and 2008 Acts
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. Howard L. Berman, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced H.R. 4240 today, the bipartisan North Korean Human Rights Act.
The act was first introduced in 2004 and reauthorized in 2008.
“As innocent North Koreans at great personal risk flee this repressive regime, we have a duty to assist these refugees and prevent their forcible repatriation,” said U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Valley Village). “We must work together with our close ally South Korea, other friends in the region, and the human rights community to expose the horrendous human rights abuses committed by the regime in Pyongyang and help those who have managed to escape the North’s brutality.”
The bipartisan legislation calls on China to halt its forcible repatriation of North Koreans and allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees unimpeded access to North Koreans inside China to determine whether fleeing North Koreans require protection.
It also calls for support for human rights and democracy programs in North Korea, and continued efforts to promote freedom of information, as well as extend the Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues.
A copy of the bill appears here .
-30-
202 226-8467