ICC NOTE: The conditions of North Korea towards its people are well documented by those who have seen it first hand. Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), has been a vocal and visible proponent for human rights reform in North Korea. His attendance with the Korean Church Coalition’s annual rally for freedom is but another example of his steadfast efforts along with others on the committee in support of freedom and protection for all of North Korea. Recently the United States placed new sanctions directly upon the regimes leader Kim Jong Un and his inner circle. The move is yet another in a long match between the two nations in its attempt to reduce the volatility of N. Korea towards the world, but also in an attempt to alleviate the harsh conditions people face in the hermit kingdom. North Korea has been the worst violator of religious freedom each year for the last 15 and continues to violate international human rights statutes.
7/14/2016 Washington, D.C. (House Foreign Affairs Committee) – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) joined the Korean Church Coalition’s annual rally for North Korean freedom. Today’s rally comes just a week after the State Department released, “Report on Serious Human Rights Abuses and Censorship in North Korea,” which was mandated by Chairman Royce’s North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016. Key excerpts from Chairman Royce’s remarks are below.
“…we know that for ordinary North Koreans there is no right to freedom of religion, [to] assemble, to petition their government. But what is so horrendous, is what happens to the 120,000 who have been arrested and put in these work camps, sometimes for three generations. The back-breaking work, the way they are beaten if they so much as smile…”
“…we put sanctions against the regime, but more importantly, we personally put those sanctions against Kim Jung Un and those sanctions against those in his inner circle to ostracize them. Today we are broadcasting into North Korea and using the internet to tell people about the human rights abuses, to give them the truth, the facts about what’s happening in North Korea.”
“As we continue our efforts, I would just close by saying all of you have done the most responsible of things by having your voice speak out on behalf of the voiceless. Thank you for what you do to protect religious freedom…”
