Full Text of SR0969 98th General Assembly
SR0969 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 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; following his death in 1994, Kim Il-sung | 6 | | was succeeded by his eldest son, Kim Jong-il; on December 17, | 7 | | 2011, Kim Jong-il died and his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was | 8 | | immediately installed as his successor; the majority of the | 9 | | North Korean people have experienced unimaginable suffering | 10 | | during the regimes of all 3 dictators; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The North Korean government's top priority is | 12 | | total control of all aspects of life in North Korea; all | 13 | | information, artistic expression, academic works, and media | 14 | | activity within its borders is strictly limited, as is freedom | 15 | | of speech; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The North Korean government has executed | 17 | | political prisoners, other outspoken opponents of the regime, | 18 | | and certain "repatriated" defectors, as well as members of | 19 | | outlawed religions and organizations; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, The North Korean government currently holds | 21 | | almost a quarter of a million political prisoners in camps | 22 | | under deplorable conditions; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In the early 1990s, more than 2 million | 2 | | inhabitants of North Korea died of starvation due to the | 3 | | failure of the North Korean government-operated centralized | 4 | | agricultural and distribution systems; a 2002 United | 5 | | Nations-European Union survey indicated that one out of every | 6 | | 10 North Korean children are acutely malnourished and 4 out of | 7 | | 10 are chronically malnourished; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The North Korean government continues to prevent | 9 | | the monitoring of the delivery of food aid provided by the | 10 | | World Food Program since 1995; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The resultant risk of starvation, threat of | 12 | | persecution, and lack of personal freedoms have caused hundreds | 13 | | of thousands of North Koreans to flee, primarily into China, | 14 | | where the women are often at risk of being kidnapped and sold | 15 | | as brides, concubines, or forced into prostitution; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The Chinese government has consistently detained, | 17 | | convicted, and imprisoned foreign aid workers who, in accord | 18 | | with United Nations conventions and protocol, assist these | 19 | | North Korean aliens; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, While the responsibility for domestic refugee | 21 | | resettlement naturally devolves to the South Koreans, the |
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| 1 | | United States should play a leadership role in addressing the | 2 | | plight of these refugees and develop international solutions | 3 | | for this humanitarian crisis; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 5 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we express our | 6 | | solidarity with the North Korean refugees in their quest for | 7 | | relief from hunger and persecution; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That we articulate our support for development of | 9 | | a Human Rights and Democracy program that includes meaningful | 10 | | cultural and educational exchanges with North Korea; and be it | 11 | | further | 12 | | RESOLVED, That we call upon the United States government to | 13 | | take a leadership role in forming an international framework | 14 | | for resettlement of North Korean refugees both here and abroad; | 15 | | and be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 17 | | presented to President Barack Obama, Secretary of State John | 18 | | Kerry, the members of the Illinois congressional delegation, | 19 | | and the Illinois Human Rights Commission.
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