North Koreans in China: A Human Rights Analysis
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This paper analyzes the1 situation for North Koreans in China from a human rights perspective. It describes China's policy of considering all North Koreans to be illegal economic migrants and details the impact of this policy on the lives of individuals who have crossed the border to assure their survival. Based on interviews conducted in Yanbian and documentation by human rights organizations, the paper describes the treatment by the DPRK of North Koreans deported from China. The author makes the case that the majority of the North Koreans in China qualify for refugee status on the grounds of the differentiated access to public goods in North Korea, which is determined by political criteria, and of the harsh punishments meted out to all North Koreans who are deported from China. The paper concludes with policy options for China to contribute to resolving this situation, ranging from quietly halting all arrests and deportations of North Koreans who pose no threat to public safety to granting the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to North Koreans in China for the purpose of conducting individual refugee status determinations. North Koreans fleeing deprivation and political oppression in their homeland have no choice but to cross the border into the People's Republic of China. The exodus, which increased substantially with the advent of famine in North Korea in the mid-90s, presents China with humanitarian and human rights dilemmas that it would prefer to avoid as it seeks a resolution of security issues in Northeast Asia. Activists have organized embassy invasions by North Korean asylum seekers in Beijing, while the US Congress passed the North Korea Human Rights Act, which authorizes substantial US engagement to protect North Korean refugees. The issue of North Korean asylum seekers is now on the international political agenda. China's strategy of avoidance is therefore increasingly untenable, and solutions are needed to protect North Korean asylum seekers while recognizing China's legitimate security concerns.
Abstract
This paper analyzes the1 situation for North Koreans in China from a human rights perspective. It describes China's policy of considering all North Koreans to be illegal economic migrants and details the impact of this policy on the lives of individuals who have crossed the border to assure their survival. Based on interviews conducted in Yanbian and documentation by human rights organizations, the paper describes the treatment by the DPRK of North Koreans deported from China. The author makes the case that the majority of the North Koreans in China qualify for refugee status on the grounds of the differentiated access to public goods in North Korea, which is determined by political criteria, and of the harsh punishments meted out to all North Koreans who are deported from China. The paper concludes with policy options for China to contribute to resolving this situation, ranging from quietly halting all arrests and deportations of North Koreans who pose no threat to public safety to granting the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to North Koreans in China for the purpose of conducting individual refugee status determinations. North Koreans fleeing deprivation and political oppression in their homeland have no choice but to cross the border into the People's Republic of China. The exodus, which increased substantially with the advent of famine in North Korea in the mid-90s, presents China with humanitarian and human rights dilemmas that it would prefer to avoid as it seeks a resolution of security issues in Northeast Asia. Activists have organized embassy invasions by North Korean asylum seekers in Beijing, while the US Congress passed the North Korea Human Rights Act, which authorizes substantial US engagement to protect North Korean refugees. The issue of North Korean asylum seekers is now on the international political agenda. China's strategy of avoidance is therefore increasingly untenable, and solutions are needed to protect North Korean asylum seekers while recognizing China's legitimate security concerns.