Stop the repatriation of North Korean escapees

Columns

Published: 15 Apr. 2024, 19:12

Stop the repatriation of North Korean escapees

Andrew Wolman
The author is a senior lecturer of law at City, University of London and a former professor of international human rights law at the Graduate School of International and Area Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

Ten years after the landmark 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry report into North Korean human rights abuses, the international community has turned its attention once again to the human rights situation faced by North Koreans. By all accounts, there has been little improvement. Torture, executions, and arbitrary imprisonment in horrifyingly harsh conditions all continue to characterize life under Kim Jong-un’s regime.

Some of the worst treatment is meted out to those caught escaping the country, particularly when they are suspected of trying to reach South Korea. Merely by seeking freedom, they are considered as enemies of the Kim regime. That makes it imperative that all States refrain from sending North Korean escapees back to the country from which they fled. It is imperative as a matter of ethics and humanity, but also as a matter of law: the 1951 Refugee Convention makes clear that nobody should be returned to their home country if they would face the threat of persecution there. The Convention Against Torture similarly prohibits return a person to a country where “there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

For most countries, returning an escapee to North Korea would of course be unthinkable. China is the exception. As North Korea’s Covid travel restrictions eased over the past year, Chinese authorities forcibly repatriated a group of 600 escapees. Their fate remains unknown. The fear is that this may only be the start: there are reports of at least a thousand more North Korean escapees who are detained in China and at risk of being sent back. In recent days, there have even been reports that North Korean escapees living in Shenyang have been receiving phone calls from Chinese police officers, threatening them with repatriation if they try to come to South Korea. While the world’s attention may be focused elsewhere, the threat to North Koreans in China remains acute.

One should be clear: this repatriation of North Korean escapees is a violation of international law. China has ratified both the Refugee Convention and the Convention Against Torture, and is bound by them. China claims that there is no torture or massive human rights violations in North Korea, but this is refuted by all reasonable observers, including successive UN Special Rapporteurs. Its assertion that North Koreans are illegal economic migrants is not based on individualized refugee status determinations, and ignores the fact that even North Koreans who do leave for economic reasons would face persecution and possibly torture if repatriated, and are therefore protected from repatriation under international law. China’s recent repatriation of North Korean escapees has been condemned by the UN High Commission of Human Rights, as well as representatives from the United States and United Kingdom.

One should also be clear: the repatriation of North Korean escapees is a failure of diplomacy. The return of escapees is not a core Chinese interest. On the contrary, there are many local officials in Northeast China who disagree wholeheartedly with the policy, and find it destabilizing to a region where North Korean escapees are often married to local farmers, and are mothers to the next generation of Chinese workers. With birth rates plummeting, it seems absurd for the Chinese government to try to break up rural families, and to make the lives of women more precarious. It should be within the power of the international community to convince China to return to turn a blind eye to North Korean escapees, and even to provide them with some degree of protection and security. Yet the international community’s periodic calls to respect international law have so far been ignored.

What more can be done? Top United Nations officials must speak out more forcefully; their statements would be given more serious consideration in Beijing than are the regular condemnations of U.S. congresspeople, which can more easily be dismissed as politically motivated. Secretary General António Guterres in particular is well aware of the issue, as he used to be the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Yet he is now reluctant to mention China’s repatriation of North Koreans, presumably out of a fear of offending Chinese sensibilities. UNHCR officials have also been too passive. They should demand access to North Korean escapees, and they should ensure that fair evaluations of refugee status take place.

The Korean government must act more forcefully as well. Of course, the relationship with China is a sensitive one, and quiet diplomacy is more likely to be successful than loud demands. Yet, there is precious little evidence of even quiet diplomacy taking place. The Korean government should make clear to the authorities in Beijing that the safety of North Korean escapees is an important concern, and one that must be addressed as part of the bilateral relationship. When escapees are detained, Korean officials should work day and night for their release. Most importantly, the South Korean government should continue to provide support for the brave humanitarians — oftentimes Korean citizens — who are working on the ground in China to ensure the escapees’ safety. And this support should continue, regardless of which party controls the government in Seoul. After all, it is in nobody’s interest to see more North Korean lives sacrificed for the crime of seeking freedom.