At this CECC Roundtable, a panel of experts will discuss the Chinese government’s treatment of and policies toward asylum seekers and refugee communities, particularly North Koreans fleeing persecution and starvation in their homeland, and assess Beijing’s compliance with international laws and conventions that protect refugees. What particular problems does North Korea present for the Chinese government and the international community in the area of human rights and refugee protection and resettlement? How does the Chinese government handle Tibetans and Uyghurs seeking asylum abroad? What measures might encourage Beijing to comply with its obligations to refugees under international law?

Panelists:

Joel Charny, Vice President for Policy, Refugees International

Suzanne Scholte, North Korean refugee expert, President, Defense Forum Foundation; Chairman, North Korea Freedom Coalition

Mary Beth Markey, Tibetan refugee expert, Vice President for Advocacy and Communications, International Campaign for Tibet

Sean R. Roberts, Uyghur refugee expert, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, George Washington University

For more information, please see the section on North Korean Refugees in China (pages 124-127) in the Commission’s 2008 Annual Report. Click here to download a copy of the Commission's full 2008 Annual Report.

CECC Roundtables are open to the public. No RSVP is necessary.

A complete transcript of this CECC Roundtable is available on-line in PDF or TEXT.