UN urges member states to end forced repatriation in North

A United Nations General Assembly committee drafted a resolution expressing concern over the human rights situation in North Korea and urging member states to respect the principle of non-refoulement.

The 77th United Nations General Assembly held in September 2022 in New York City. [AFP/YONHAP]

A United Nations (UN) General Assembly committee voiced deep concerns regarding the “grave human rights situation” in North Korea and the punishment of those repatriated from abroad in its recently unveiled draft resolution.

The resolution, shared by the Third Committee of the United Nations responsible for social, humanitarian and cultural issues last week, comes after Beijing forcibly repatriated North Korean defectors early last month.

It urges all member states to respect the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, particularly “in the light of a resumption of cross-border travel.” North Korea officially opened its borders to its citizens staying abroad on Aug. 27, following a three-year pandemic seal.

The international principle of non-refoulment guarantees that no one be returned to a country where they are at risk of being subjected to torture, cruel treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm, according to the UN Human Rights Council.

The resolution additionally “urges State parties to comply with their obligations under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees [...] in relation to refugees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who are covered by those instruments, as well as under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,” although it does not specify China's recent forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the North's official name.

The inclusion of the UN’s Convention against Torture holds significant meaning, according to South Korea’s ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook, as reported by Voice of America.

China is one of the countries that have ratified the convention. One of its clauses states, “No State Party shall expel, return, or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

People Power Party Rep. Thae Yong-ho, a North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker, speaks during a press conference held to protest forced repatriations of North Korean defectors at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 31. [YONHAP]

Thae Yong-ho, a North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker, had called for the resolution to include a clause that stipulates China’s responsibility for the forced repatriation earlier last week. However, the European Union (EU), which sponsors the resolution, did not make such a decision, in an apparent move to adopt the resolution by consensus.

The resolution has been passed by the UN General Assembly for 18 consecutive years and adopted by consensus in the last seven years.

The draft resolution came after South Korean human rights advocacy groups said that China forcibly sent back hundreds of North Korean defectors who were imprisoned in the country.

According to the rights group One Korea Network, China repatriated some 600 North Korean defectors imprisoned within its country early last month. These defectors are believed to have been detained in several border regions between North Korea and China, including Dandong in Liaoning Province, and Hunchun, Tumen, Nanping and Changbai in Jilin Province, according to a statement released by Justice for North Korea, an NGO focused on North Korean human rights.

The South Korean government confirmed the repatriation following the reports but did not verify the numbers. Around 2,000 North Korean defectors are believed to be detained in China. Beijing regards North Koreans entering its country as economic migrants rather than refugees.

If verified, these repatriations would account for the largest number of North Koreans forcibly sent back from China to North Korea since Pyongyang closed its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]