JUBILEE CAMPAIGN

September 29th 2003

JUBILEE CAMPAIGN WELCOMES UNHCR STATEMENT ON NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES IN CHINA

On Monday 29 September, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Ruud Lubbers, said to the Executive Committee of the UNHCR that many North Koreans in China may be considered refugees and in view of their protection needs, this group of people is of concern to the UNHCR.

As part of his speech in Geneva to the Executive Committee of the UNHCR, Mr. Lubbers said, “In China, the plight of North Koreans who leave their country illegally remains a serious concern. For a number of years UNHCR has been making efforts to obtain access to them, but this has been denied. An analysis of currently available information recently carried out by our Department of International Protection concludes that many North Koreans may well be considered refugees. In view of their protection needs, the group is of concern to UNHCR. For those in need of assistance UNHCR is ready to work with partners in meeting their needs. Above all, the principle of non-refoulement must be respected.”

There are up to 300,000 North Koreans taking refuge in China. Thousands of them have been forcibly repatriated by the Chinese authorities back to North Korea where they risk imprisonment and even execution for fleeing the country. Jubilee Campaign has been campaigning for an end to these forced repatriations and for the UNHCR to put more pressure on the Chinese authorities over the repatriations.

The UNHCR has an agreement with the Chinese authorities under which they are supposed to permit UNHCR unimpeded access to refugees in China. Under this bilateral agreement, there is a mechanism for binding arbitration in case of disputes. The Chinese government has so far refused UNHCR access to North Korean refugees, claiming that these North Koreans are not refugees and therefore do not come under the refugee agency’s mandate. Until now the UNHCR has refused to take the matter to arbitration, despite the severity of the North Korean refugee crisis in China. Jubilee Campaign has been very critical in the past of the UNHCR’s slow and relatively passive response to the North Korean refugee crisis including their refusal to refer the Chinese government’s non-cooperation to arbitration.

Jubilee’s Researcher and Parliamentary Officer, Wilfred Wong, says, “The statement by the U.N High Commissioner for Refugees clearly indicates that UNHCR do consider many of these North Koreans in China as coming under their mandate. While we heartily welcome this definitive statement, it currently remains unclear how far the UNHCR is willing to go in pressuring the Chinese authorities to cooperate with them regarding the protection of North Korean refugees. Jubilee Campaign will continue to lobby the UNHCR to resort to arbitration, as is their right, if the Chinese authorities continue to obstruct the UNHCR in fulfilling their mandate to protect North Korean refugees in China. Jubilee will also continue to lobby the Chinese government to stop the forced repatriations and to cooperate fully with the UNHCR in protecting North Korean refugees in China. “

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For further information you can contact Wilfred Wong on +44 (0)20 7219 5129.

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