This week, the U.S. Senate passed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., “North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act” without opposition.
“The bipartisan legislation responds to the ongoing human rights crisis occurring under the Kim Jong-un regime by reauthorizing the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 for an additional five years,” Rubio’s office noted.
Rubio introduced the bill back in May with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., as a co-sponsor. After the Senate passed the bill, the senators urged the U.S. House to follow suit before Congress adjourns.
“The United States must always stand up against the poison of totalitarianism, which continues to inflict horrific suffering on the North Korean people. The House of Representatives should take up this bill immediately to provide much-needed relief to those who are forced to live under Kim’s cruel regime,” said Rubio.
“The ongoing abuses being committed by the North Korean regime are a direct affront to the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With today’s Senate passage of this bipartisan legislation, we reaffirm our support for the North Korean people, who continue to have their most basic freedoms denied,” said Kaine.
U.S. Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., introduced the House bill at the end of March and it’s been before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee since then.
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