This photo released on Aug. 22 by Kyodo shows North Korean women at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. North Korea said, Aug. 27, it will allow its citizens staying abroad to return home as the country slowly eases its draconian pandemic restrictions. Yonhap

Activists consider increasing pressure ahead of Hangzhou Asian Games

By Jung Min-ho

Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, said she has been closely monitoring China for any signs of a resumption in the forced repatriations of North Korean escapees as the two countries ease border restrictions.

In a statement recently sent to The Korea Times, Salmon recognized the grave risk of human rights violations facing the escapees who have been detained in China during the three-year border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I and other mandate holders have repeatedly raised concerns over the forced repatriation of people from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) by other countries including China due to the continuing real risk of serious human rights violations upon return," Salmon said. "Other international human rights mechanisms have expressed their concerns on the issue too. I am following the current situation very closely and I trust Chinese authorities will take these concerns on board."

Her remarks come after more than 300 North Korean workers returned to their home country from the Chinese border city of Dandong earlier this week, in the latest sign of a resumption in trade and other exchanges between the two states.

But for the North Korean detainees in China ― as many as 2,000, according to rights groups ― the news would apparently create an air of fear and despair, they said.

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Merely crossing the border without state approval is punishable by years of hard labor. The treatment for repeated violators could be inhumanely harsher, said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

"The Chinese government has a solemn obligation as a ratifying state of the U.N. Refugee Convention to not send North Koreans back to the DPRK (North Korea) where they will face certain persecution, torture, and imprisonment for fleeing the country," he said. "Under no circumstances should any North Korean be forced back across the border against their will. The Chinese government should recognize North Koreans need for protection and stop barring UNHCR from accessing the border region to monitor and provide assistance to North Koreans."

Seoul has long asked Beijing to give the escapees the option of returning to North Korea or allowing them to head to the South. Despite diplomatic efforts, Beijing has maintained a policy of treating North Koreans crossing into China as illegal economic migrants rather than refugees.

This photo released on Aug. 22 shows ground crew working near an Air Koryo airplane on the tarmac at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing. AP-Yonhap

Rights experts say the forced repatriations of escapees ― for whatever excuse they offer ― are a clear violation of multiple U.N. treaties, including the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which China promised to respect as a participating party.

A representative of a Seoul-based rights organization said activists will consider increasing political and diplomatic pressure on Beijing ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games, scheduled to run from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.

"One way could be pressuring the government in Seoul not to send its delegation. Using the event as a platform to raise awareness of the issue is another option to consider," he said.

Given the extensive attention drawn to the issue, Beijing would probably not deport all the North Korean detainees at once, a move which is expected to trigger an international outcry, he said.

"The Chinese government would probably do so one individual or a group at a time during a long period. This is the possibility we are closely monitoring," the official added.

Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul did not respond to requests for Beijing's position on the issue.