U.S. urged to press China to prevent N. Korean refugees repatriation

By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Yonhap) -- A human rights group Wednesday urged the Barack Obama administration to pressure China to stop repatriating North Korean refugees who face persecution back home for illegal flight.

"The international community and the United States should demand that China
implement a screening procedure to determine the status of North Koreans who seek
asylum there, and stop refoulement of refugees," the Committee for Human Rights
in North Korea said in a statement issued to mark North Korea Freedom Week,
observed by the Defense Forum Foundation and several other human rights groups
based in Washington.
The statement comes amid concerns that Obama may follow the policy of his
predecessor, George W, Bush, who had been accused of failing to raise human
rights issues in the six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions in
order not to divert attention from the North's denuclearization.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in February that human rights
violations should not serve as a hurdle to improvements in relations with China,
inviting sharp criticism from human rights activists who accused Clinton of being
naive.
Jay Lefkowitz, who stepped down in January as U.S. special envoy for human rights
in North Korea, has urged the Obama administration to emphasize human rights in
the multilateral nuclear talks, proposing that the U.S. and its allies cooperate
closely to link any aid with human rights improvements.
The committee also called on the U.S. to make diplomatic efforts to "ensure that
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees gain access to all North Koreans in China
and be permitted to guarantee the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in
China."
China has been under criticism for not allowing the commissioner access to North
Korean refugees before their repatriation.
"China should recognize that North Koreans who escape across the border are
potential refugees or refugees sur place and warrant protection from
refoulement," the committee said, urging the Beijing government to "discard the
inhumane and illegal border security agreement with North Korea." Refugees sur
place are those who become refugees once outside their place of origin.
"While China understandably does not want to encourage large numbers of North
Koreans to flee to its border areas, it is not acceptable for China to thwart
international efforts to protect these people," it said.
China has been under criticism for repatriating North Korean refugees under a
secret agreement with North Korea, while recognizing North Korean defectors as
economic immigrants rather than refugees.
In an annual human rights report issued in February, the U.S. State Department
expressed concerns about the human trafficking and repatriation of North Korean
refugees.
"There continued to be reports of severe punishment of some repatriated
refugees," the report said. "There were widespread reports of trafficking in
women and girls among refugees and workers crossing the border into China."
Most North Korean defectors cross the border with China to seek shelter, mostly
in South Korea, which has received more than 15,000 North Korean defectors since
the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. The U.S. has taken about 70 North Korean
refugees since the North Korean Human Rights Act was enacted years ago to help
promote democracy in North Korea.