UN Report Criticizes China for Treatment of North Korean Refugees Amid Worsening Situation

UN Commission Findings and Recommendations

On February 17, 2014, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“the UN Commission”) released its report on the state of human rights in the DPRK.[1]  The Commission found that “systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been, and are being committed by the [DPRK]” and concluded that, “in many instances, the violations found by the Commission constitute crimes against humanity.”[2]  According to the UN Commission, many North Koreans crossing the border into China “do so owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of religion or political opinion.”[3] The UN Commission specifically implicated China as part of its findings for its policy of repatriating North Korean refugees to the DPRK “despite the gross human rights violations awaiting [them].”[4] The report accused Chinese officials of taking actions against North Korean refugees that are in violation of China’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law,[5] including:

• Targeted operations to seek out and detain refugees;[6]
• Measures to restrict refugees from gaining access to foreign embassies and consulates to seek protection or asylum;[7]
• Reported instances of sexual and physical abuse by Chinese authorities against detained refugees;[8]
• Preventing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), including UNHCR staff based in Beijing, unhindered access to refugees;[9]
• Failing to provide refugees with adequate protection from human trafficking;[10]
• Failing to provide children born to North Korean women and Chinese men basic rights such as access to healthcare and education.[11]

The UN Commission additionally sought to assign China possible culpability for aiding in what were found to be crimes against humanity “against persons who try to flee the DPRK, including persons forcibly repatriated from China.”[12]  Highlighting evidence that Chinese officials provided North Korean authorities with information on detained refugees, including information on “the circumstances and place of their apprehension and contact they had in China,” the UN Commission found that such conduct “could amount to aiding and abetting of crimes against humanity in the DPRK.”[13]  The report, moreover, stated that Chinese officials were “normally aware of the human rights violations that repatriated persons face,” citing as an example evidence that appeared to show Chinese knowledge of the use of forced abortions on pregnant women repatriated to the DPRK.[14]

In consideration of the report’s findings, the UN Commission urged China “to abstain from forcibly repatriating” North Korean refugees and to extend “asylum and other means of durable protection” to them.[15]  The UN Commission also called on China to “stop providing information on the activities and contacts of persons from the [DPRK] living in China” to North Korean authorities and to allow the UNHCR and other relevant organizations “full and unimpeded access to all persons from the [DPRK] seeking such contact.”[16]

Chinese Reaction and Opposition to UN Commission

Chinese officials have criticized the UN Commission’s report, rejecting allegations relating to its treatment of North Korean refugees.  While Chinese state media has reported on some of the Commission’s findings and authorities have reportedly allowed for some discussion on social media, Chinese officials have rejected the Commission’s “unreasonable criticism” of China’s North Korea policy.[17]  In a February 17, 2014, press briefing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying rebuffed criticism of China’s repatriation policy, reiterating the Chinese government’s view that North Koreans illegally entering China are not refugees, but rather “illegal border-crossers” exempt from refugee protections.[18]  Editorials published in Chinese state-run media in February 2014 echoed this view, while also questioning the veracity of refugee testimony in the UN Commission’s report and warning of the instability the report could create in Northeast Asia.[19]

China had expressed its opposition to the establishment of the UN Commission, refusing to cooperate with it during its investigation.[20]  According to the UN Commission’s chairman Michael Kirby, the Chinese government refused multiple times to allow the Commission entry into China, including denying it access to regions in China where North Korean refugees are known to reside.  The UN Commission also noted the Chinese government’s refusal to allow its staff the opportunity to meet with relevant government officials and experts, as well as “representatives of churches and other organizations” involved in caring for North Korean refugees in China.[21]

While China was not a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) when the Council voted in 2013 to establish the UN Commission, China’s re-election to the UNHRC in late 2013 has given it a role in shaping the UNHRC’s response to the UN Commission’s findings.[22]  During the UN Commission’s presentation to the UNHRC on March 17, 2014, China questioned the report’s credibility, stating that “many recommendations were divorced from the realities in the [Korean] peninsula,” due in part to its inability to “get support and cooperation” from the DPRK.[23]  China also objected to the possibility of having the United Nations Security Council take up the UN Commission’s findings, suggesting that it would veto any resolution holding the DPRK responsible for human rights violations despite the appeals of other countries.[24]  Some observers argue that the UN Commission’s report still could bring renewed pressure on China to alter its policies, particularly if China acts to block UN action against the DPRK.[25] Human rights advocates have indicated that increasing support in recent years by a large majority of countries for UN action on human rights violations in North Korea could make it more difficult and costly diplomatically for China to support the DPRK.[26]

Report Released Amid Worsening Conditions for North Korean Refugees

Prior to the release of the UN Commission’s report, conditions for North Korean refugees had worsened under heightened border security and renewed crackdowns at the end of 2013.  In November 2013, South Korean and other international media outlets reported on several instances in which Chinese authorities were believed to have detained North Korean refugees and, in some cases, repatriated them to the DPRK:

• November 2: South Korean media, citing a source in China, reported that Chinese authorities detained a total of 17 North Korean refugees in the following three locations: Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province; Yanji city, capital of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province; and Dandong municipality, Liaoning.[27]  The source indicated Chinese authorities repatriated the refugees to the DPRK.[28]   
• November 7: South Korean media, citing a South Korean refugee activist, reported that Chinese authorities detained five refugees near Beijing municipality.[29]  The source indicated Chinese authorities repatriated the refugees on November 8 to the DPRK.[30]  
• November 15: Chinese authorities reportedly detained between 13 and 15 North Korean refugees in Yunnan province, including two Chinese citizens acting as guides, as they boarded a bus traveling to an unknown location in Southeast Asia.[31] The refugees detained reportedly included a 13-year old.[32]  A November 19 report from the Chosun Daily indicated authorities had transferred the refugees to Liaoning reportedly in preparation to being repatriated to the DPRK.[33]

South Korean media, citing a source in North Korea, additionally reported in November 2013 that Chinese security officials had been given guidelines on how to handle North Korean refugees “in the same way they deal with major crimes against the state.”[34]

Border security reportedly increased following the execution of Jang Sung-Taek, a leading figure in the North Korean government and uncle of DPRK paramount leader Kim Jong-un, in December 2013. South Korean and international media indicated both North Korean and Chinese officials increased border security in the wake of Jang’s execution, with one South Korean media report in December citing a North Korean source as stating that the border situation was “like nothing anyone has seen before.”[35] Chinese authorities also reportedly “intensified” security along major refugee routes and alerted Chinese communities along the North Korean border about refugee-related security concerns.[36]  A South Korean official quoted in a December 26, 2013, Yonhap article, indicated North Korea had sent security officials to China in cooperation with Chinese authorities in order to seek out and repatriate refugees residing in the country.[37] Refugee advocates stated that the recent intensified security measures had led to a drop in the number of North Korean refugees arriving in Southeast Asia, a crucial stopover for many refugees before gaining asylum elsewhere.[38]           

For more information on Chinese policy toward North Korean refugees, see Section II—North Korean Refugees in China in the CECC 2013 Annual Report.