05/12/2005

Below are excerpts of an article from AFP:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US administration pledged to step up its efforts to stem human rights abuses in
North Korea and said it would soon name a special envoy to deal with the issue.

Condoleezza Rice told a Senate appropriations committee that more attention must be paid to the worrisome rights record of a regime whose nuclear weapons program has dominated headlines.

...

Rice responded to a question by Republican Senator Sam Brownback, sponsor of the legislation, who earlier Thursday joined the group Refugees International in urging Washington to take greater action.


...

"It is a horrific situation," the Kansas lawmaker told a briefing organized by Refugees International and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank.

He said thousands of North Koreans were fleeing persecution and starvation only to be rounded up by the Chinese in contravention of international law and sent back to likely reprisals and even death.

Brownback accused the State Department of blocking full implementation of the North Korean Human Rights Act, which authorized 20 million dollars in aid to refugees, defectors, migrants and orphans.

"It's time to act, because each day we delay, more get in prison, more get killed," the senator said. "It's wrong, it's happening before our eyes, it must stop."

The theme was echoed by Refugees International in a new report titled "Acts of Betrayal" that urged Washington to make the issue of North Korean refugees a major part of its human rights dialogue with China.

The group also called for the appointment of a senior retired US official of ambassadorial rank or higher who could carry on discreet discussions with the Chinese on the subject.