UN working group criticizes China for last year's repatriations of North Korean defectors

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UN working group criticizes China for last year's repatriations of North Korean defectors

Published: 20 Nov. 2024, 18:22

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

A North Korean refugee living in the United Kingdom appeals for the release of her sister, Kim Cheol-ok, in front of the North Korean Embassy in London on Oct. 10. Kim was repatriated to North Korea by China in October 2023 after she escaped her home country. [YONHAP]

A United Nations working group has concluded that China's repatriation of North Korean defectors last year constitutes an "arbitrary deprivation of liberty" and urged China and North Korea to take steps to address the issue, a document showed Wednesday.

The UN Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted the opinions during an August session, in response to a petition filed on behalf of Kim Cheol-ok, a North Korean national, the document showed.

Kim was among hundreds of North Korean escapees deported by China to their home country following the conclusion of the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October last year, as part of its internationally criticized mass repatriation of North Korean refugees.

With the help of a human rights group, Kim's family living outside North Korea submitted the petition requesting that the UN working group determine whether Kim's repatriation constitutes arbitrary detention.

The UN working group cited China's failure to inform Kim of the reasons and charges for her arrest as evidence that her arrest and repatriation were "arbitrary" actions that violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It also determined that the arrest and detention of the escapees, including Kim, by North Korean authorities "are arbitrary as they resulted from the individuals' exercise of their rights" under the declaration and covenant.

"The appropriate remedy would be to release Ms. Kim immediately and accord her with an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law," the working group said, urging "steps necessary to remedy the situation without delay."

The group also urged China and North Korea to ensure "a full and independent investigation of the circumstances" and to "take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of Kim's rights."

The working group referred Kim's case to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances for "appropriate action."

The working group is also currently reviewing the cases of three South Korean Christian missionaries — Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil — who are currently detained after being taken into custody in North Korea between 2013 and 2015 on spy charges to determine if their detentions constitute arbitrary detention.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]