Sec. 2. Findings

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Congress makes the following findings: Providing humanitarian assistance, including to countries subject to sanctions imposed by the United States, is an expression of American values that furthers United States interests around the world and is consistent with international humanitarian law. As of February 2020, roughly 10,100,000 people in North Korea are in urgent need of food assistance and roughly 10,400,000 need nutrition support and improved access to basic services, including health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.

More than 40 percent of people in North Korea are undernourished, and 1 out of every 5 children in the country younger than 5 years of age is stunted in growth. More than 1/3 of household drinking water in North Korea is contaminated. Independent experts have identified severe deficiencies in North Korea’s public health infrastructure, trained medical personnel, ability to communicate important safety information, and commitment to addressing those deficiencies. North Korea has one of the highest burdens of tuberculosis in the world and humanitarian assistance is critical for countering the spread of deadly infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (commonly known as COVID–19 ).

North Korea cannot reliably maintain stocks of drugs to treat diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, posing the risk of interrupted treatments, which can lead to treatment failures and resistance to multiple therapies that make treatment significantly more difficult and costly. The spread of COVID–19 in North Korea is likely having devastating consequences for the people of that country who are especially vulnerable to a pandemic because of deficiencies in public health infrastructure.

The 2019 Global Health Security Index shows North Korea is the third least prepared country in the world to combat a health security crisis. While the Government of North Korea has not reported any cases of COVID–19 in the country, the true extent and impact of the novel coronavirus inside North Korea is unknown, and government officials have not historically been open or transparent about humanitarian emergencies facing the people of North Korea. Responses to the COVID–19 crisis, including border closings and quarantines, have caused economic shock and hampered international efforts that would otherwise be providing life-saving support to the people of North Korea.

In its final report published on August 28, 2020, the United Nations Panel of Experts on North Korea found that there can be little doubt that United Nations sanctions have had unintended effects on the humanitarian situation and aid operations within the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea . Barriers to humanitarian access can result from decisions made or delayed by the Government of North Korea, by the governments of other countries, including the governments of the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and by the Committee of the United Nations Security Council established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718

(2006)(referred to in this Act as the 1718 Sanctions Committee ). Nongovernmental organizations that provide humanitarian assistance in North Korea must typically seek simultaneous authorizations from the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, the 1718 Sanctions Committee, customs officials in the People’s Republic of China, and the Government of North Korea, adding further delays to humanitarian access. The 1718 Sanctions Committee issued the document entitled Implementation Assistance Notice No. 7 on August 6, 2018, to clarify the process for granting requests for humanitarian exemptions by the United Nations and to reaffirm that sanctions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for civilians in North Korea. That guidance was updated on December 1, 2020, to help streamline permissions for COVID–19-related aid and to extend humanitarian waivers from 6 to 9 months. United States Government travel restrictions impede the access of United States employees of humanitarian organizations inside North Korea and can complicate the monitoring and evaluation procedures that nongovernmental organizations have used to ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable populations. Humanitarian exceptions in comprehensive sanctions programs, such as the exceptions under section 510.512 of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations, are not effective unless the persons who provide assistance along with their financial institutions, suppliers, shippers, and other entities can make practical use of the exceptions.