PRESS RELEASE FROM JUBILEE CAMPAIGN

For immediate release

September 23rd 2003

LORD ALTON AND LADY COX SUBMIT PROTEST LETTER TO CHINESE GOVERNMENT

2 members of the British House of Lords, Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Cox, a deputy speaker in the Lords, have recently concluded a 6 day visit to North Korea, which included a stopover in Beijing, China. During their visit they met senior members of the North Korean government.

After leaving North Korea, while in Beijing, they presented a protest letter to Mrs. Fu Ying, the Director General of the Asian Department for Foreign Affairs, at the Chinese government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In their letter they informed the Chinese government that more widespread provision of life-saving aid to North Korea would reduce the necessity for people to leave that country in order to survive. They believe that the overwhelming majority of North Koreans leave the country because of food shortages.

It has been estimated that 200-300 refugees are forcibly repatriated from China back to North Korea each week without determination of their status. Lord Alton and Baroness Cox stated in their letter, “We also know of the harsh consequences for anyone repatriated to North Korea who has attempted to go to a third country. These consequences include execution.”

Included with the letter was a list of forcibly repatriated refugees and aid workers imprisoned in China for assisting the refugees. Lord Alton and Baroness Cox urged the Chinese government to honour its international humanitarian obligations, including their bilateral agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), promising unimpaired access to refugees and conferment of refugee status where appropriate.

There are up to 300,000 North Korean refugees hiding in China. The situation of North Korean refugees in China is desperate. The human rights organisation, the Jubilee Campaign, has been campaigning with Lord Alton for an end to the Chinese policy of forcibly repatriating refugees back to North Korea which it considers to be both inhumane and contrary to international law. These refugees are likely to be imprisoned or even executed on their return to North Korea. At least 7 aid workers have been imprisoned in China for assisting the refugees.

Jubilee Campaign has also been lobbying the UNHCR to enforce their bilateral agreement with the Chinese government. This agreement permits UNHCR unimpeded access to refugees and has a provision for arbitration in the event of a dispute. Despite the Chinese government’s repeated refusal to permit UNHCR access to North Korean refugees, the refugee agency has yet to bring the matter to arbitration.

Jubilee Campaign is an interdenominational Christian human rights organisation which has worked with more than 150 British Parliamentarians on human rights issues worldwide.