April 30, 2009 - Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), a member of the Executive Committee on the Congressional Human Rights Commission, gave the following remarks this morning at a hearing on "Human Rights and Humanitarian Tragedies in North Korea: What Can Be Done to Help the North Korean People." 

"North Korea Freedom Week," is meant to raise awareness of the tragic loss of an estimated 3 million North Koreans at the hands of North Korea's brutal regime, and the ongoing suffering and oppression of the North Korean people.

Congressman Franks stated:

"No one who hears firsthand accounts of the brutality of the North Korean regime can reasonably argue that this is not one of the most inhumane places to live in the world. 

"Last year, during a similar hearing, we heard from individuals who escaped the brutality: they shared about the infamous "re-education" camps, the starvation forced on them by the government, the brainwashing and forced worship of Kim Jong Il and his father, and how those who escaped were often trafficked through China and even returned to North Korea to face further torture, indoctrination, or death. 

"Words cannot describe how absolutely horrifying the conditions in North Korea are, and there is no way this hearing will have the time to do justice to the dire situation there.  Still, we are here to receive a glimpse into the suffering that millions in North Korea face on a daily base, and find out what more can be done to alleviate this perpetual agony.  

"As you are all likely very well aware, the North Korean government's nuclear capabilities pose a serious threat to international security.  However, this threat cannot be separated from the threat the regime also poses to their own people.  I am not just concerned about the havoc the North Korean regime could wreak on the United States or its neighbors; I am also deeply concerned about the well-documented havoc this regime is already wreaking on its own people who suffer daily from starvation, insecurity, torture, indoctrination, and more. 

"The food crisis of the 1990s left an estimated 2 million people dead from starvation, and the country is facing another dire shortage of food aid.  One of our panelists will testify about how the regime uses food as a weapon against its own people.  I look forward to hearing more about this.  I am glad we have Michael Magan with us today since he helped negotiate an agreement to allow more food aid from the United States into North Korea.  I was very grieved to hear that the North Korean regime forced the NGO Consortium working on this food aid out of the country at the end of March.  I also look forward to hearing more about the Consortium's work from Ken Isaacs with Samaritan's Purse.  I have great respect and gratitude for the hard work that Samaritan's Purse is doing around the world and am glad you can join us today.

"The State Department reports that the North Korean government's human rights record is very poor - this is a profound understatement.  Over the past year, the regime has continued to commit numerous serious abuses, including subjecting citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives, with frequent reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, arbitrary detention, and political prisoners. 

"Approximately 200,000 political prisoners are held in North Korea's 're-education' camps or gulags. According to the State Department, torture occurs in these prisons and pregnant female prisoners underwent forced abortions in some cases, and in other cases babies were killed upon birth in prisons.  The government enforces strict controls on all information and denies citizens the most basic human rights to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and association. 

"There continues to be reports of severe punishment of some repatriated refugees and widespread reports of trafficking in women and girls among refugees and workers crossing the border into China.

"We have a distinguished group of witnesses with us today and I am honored to be here to hear their testimonies.  I am particularly interested in hearing what our panelists think about how the United States Government can work to ensure that humanitarian assistance into the country continues, while also placing our concern for human dignity on the same level as any discussion on North Korea's nuclear ambitions. 

"Thank you."