Full Text of SR0649 98th General Assembly
SR0649 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0649 | | LRB098 14517 GRL 49267 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Under the misnomer of the Democratic People's | 3 | | Republic of Korea, the current North Korean government is a | 4 | | continuation of the absolute dynastic dictatorship started by | 5 | | Kim Il-sung in 1948 after the bifurcation of Korea at the end | 6 | | of World War II; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Following his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung was | 8 | | succeeded by his eldest son, Kim Jong-il, and was designated as | 9 | | the "Eternal President" by the North Korean constitution; on | 10 | | December 17, 2011, Kim Jong-il succumbed to a heart attack and | 11 | | his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was immediately installed as his | 12 | | successor; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The majority of the North Korean people have | 14 | | experienced unimaginable suffering during the regimes of all 3 | 15 | | dictators; the systemic ideological indoctrination in support | 16 | | of the "cult of personality" glorifying the dynasty amounts to | 17 | | a state religion; loyalty to this leadership cult determines | 18 | | not only social status but also employment, housing, and other | 19 | | resources, as well as such basic necessities, such as access to | 20 | | healthcare and even food; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The North Korean government's top priority is | 22 | | total control of all aspects of life in North Korea; all |
| | | SR0649 | - 2 - | LRB098 14517 GRL 49267 r |
|
| 1 | | information, artistic expression, academic works, and media | 2 | | activity within its borders is strictly limited, as is freedom | 3 | | of speech; attempted defection, "slander" against the ruling | 4 | | party or its leaders, listening to foreign broadcasts, writing | 5 | | "reactionary" letters, or possession of "reactionary" printed | 6 | | matter is met with severe punishments and confiscation of | 7 | | assets; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, In addition to the aforementioned and numerous | 9 | | incidents of human rights abuses that continue to occur in | 10 | | North Korea, the government has committed far more serious | 11 | | acts, such as the execution of political prisoners, other | 12 | | outspoken opponents of the regime, and certain "repatriated" | 13 | | defectors, as well as members of outlawed religions and | 14 | | organizations; these executions are sometimes performed at | 15 | | public meetings attended by workers, students, and | 16 | | schoolchildren; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The North Korean government currently holds | 18 | | almost a quarter of a million political prisoners in camps | 19 | | under deplorable conditions; forced labor, beatings, torture, | 20 | | and executions are common and those who survive such treatment | 21 | | often die from disease, starvation, and overexposure; | 22 | | eyewitness testimony provided to the United States Congress by | 23 | | survivors of these camps report that inmates are used as slave | 24 | | labor for the production of exported goods, as targets for |
| | | SR0649 | - 3 - | LRB098 14517 GRL 49267 r |
|
| 1 | | martial arts practice, and the subjects of chemical and | 2 | | biological weapons testing; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, In the early 1990s, more than 2 million | 4 | | inhabitants of North Korea died of starvation due to the | 5 | | failure of the North Korean government-operated centralized | 6 | | agricultural and distribution systems; a 2002 United | 7 | | Nations-European Union survey indicated that one out of every | 8 | | 10 North Korean children are acutely malnourished and 4 out of | 9 | | 10 are chronically malnourished; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Although the United States has provided more than | 11 | | 2 million tons of food to the North Korean people through the | 12 | | World Food Program since 1995, the North Korean government | 13 | | continues to prevent the World Food Program from monitoring the | 14 | | delivery of food aid and denies the use of Korean-speaking | 15 | | natives to help and travel access throughout the country; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The resultant risk of starvation, threat of | 17 | | persecution, and lack of personal freedoms have caused hundreds | 18 | | of thousands of North Koreans to flee, primarily into China, | 19 | | where the women are often at risk of being kidnapped and sold | 20 | | as brides, concubines, or forced into prostitution; in spite of | 21 | | China's obligation as a party to the 1951 United Nations | 22 | | Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as well as the | 23 | | 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the Chinese |
| | | SR0649 | - 4 - | LRB098 14517 GRL 49267 r |
|
| 1 | | government is cooperating with North Korean officials to locate | 2 | | North Koreans who are in China without official permission; the | 3 | | Chinese government classifies those seeking asylum as | 4 | | "economic migrants" and returns them to North Korea, without | 5 | | regard to the serious threat of persecution that awaits them | 6 | | upon their "repatriation"; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Chinese government has consistently detained, | 8 | | convicted, and imprisoned foreign aid workers who, in accord | 9 | | with United Nations conventions and protocol, assist these | 10 | | North Korean aliens; it has been alleged that, in January of | 11 | | 2000, North Korean agents abducted Reverend Kim Dong-shik, a | 12 | | permanent resident of the United States and an advocate for | 13 | | North Korean refugees; his whereabouts and condition remain | 14 | | unknown; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, While the responsibility for domestic refugee | 16 | | resettlement naturally devolves to the South Koreans, who have | 17 | | legally admitted more than any other country with approximately | 18 | | 3,800 refugees between 1994 and 2003, the United States should | 19 | | play a leadership role in addressing the plight of these | 20 | | refugees and develop international solutions for this | 21 | | humanitarian crisis; therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 23 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we express our |
| | | SR0649 | - 5 - | LRB098 14517 GRL 49267 r |
|
| 1 | | solidarity with the North Korean refugees in their quest for | 2 | | relief from hunger and persecution; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That we applaud United States Secretary of State | 4 | | John Kerry's initiative for taking steps toward the development | 5 | | of a framework for the resumption of talks with the Democratic | 6 | | People's Republic of Korea and articulate our support for | 7 | | development of a Human Rights and Democracy program that | 8 | | includes meaningful cultural and educational exchanges with | 9 | | the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That we call upon President Barack Obama to | 11 | | appoint a special envoy for human rights in North Korea and | 12 | | implore both houses of the United States Congress to take a | 13 | | leadership role in forming an international framework for | 14 | | resettlement of North Korean refugees both here and abroad; and | 15 | | be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Human Rights Commission | 17 | | to take notice of this resolution and to take whatever actions | 18 | | they might deem appropriate and necessary to address the issues | 19 | | raised therein; and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John | 22 | | Kerry, the members of the Illinois congressional delegation, |
| | | SR0649 | - 6 - | LRB098 14517 GRL 49267 r |
|
| 1 | | and the Illinois Human Rights Commission.
|
|