Don’t deport North Korean escapees, UN human rights official urges China
- Dozens of North Koreans rounded up in China in recent months and those sent back face severe punishment, activists say
China should not repatriate the increasing number of North Korean escapees it has arrested in recent months, because severe punishment faces those sent home, a UN human rights investigator said on Friday.
At least 30, if not more, North Korean escapees have been rounded up in raids across China since mid-April, families and activist groups said this month, in what activists have called a “severe” crackdown.
At the time, the Chinese foreign ministry said it was not aware of any arrests. Activists and lawyers say there is no sign yet that the North Koreans have been deported.
“Information suggests China may have recently strengthened the search for North Korean escapees in collaboration with the government of North Korea,” Tomas Ojea Quintana, a United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, said in Seoul.
“Repatriated North Koreans are at great risk of serious human rights violations, including torture.
“The government of North Korea criminalises those who cross the border irregularly.”