Friday, February 4, 2005
UN OFFICIAL CALLS NORTH KOREAN
DEFECTORS "REFUGEES" FOR FIRST TIME
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
 FAIRFAX, VA (ANS)
-- Jubilee Campaign USA, a Christian human rights
group based in Fairfax, VA, has applauded a United Nations official who
has declared North Korean defectors as “refugees” for the first time. (Pictured: In an asylum bid, suspected North Korean
asylum seekers storm into the Canadian embassy in Beijing. Eight people
believed to be North Korean defectors raced into a Japanese school
inside Beijing to seek refuge -- AFP/Chosun Ilbo).
The detailed report and conclusions were reached by the United Nations
Special Rapporteur on North Korea, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, who was
appointed in July 2004 with a mandate to investigate and report on
human rights violations in North Korea and to begin a dialogue with its
government.
This report, which is due to be presented in March to the 61st session
of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, represents
the first time an official UN document has clearly defined North Korean
defectors as “refugees."
PRESSING THE UNITED NATIONS
“For the past three years, Jubilee Campaign has been pressing the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to find decisively that
North Koreans fleeing their homeland are refugees and should be
afforded refugee protection,” Ann Buwalda of Jubilee Campaign USA told
ANS.
“After all, the mandate of the UNHCR is to protect refugees and promote
durable solutions to their plight. The first positive step occurred on
September 29, 2003, when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud
Lubbers, at the 54th session of ExCom, declared North Korean defectors
in China to be a ‘group of concern’ to the UNHCR.
“Under UN rules, this declaration was to trigger certain protection
obligations. Lubbers noted, ‘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 [forcible repatriation] must be
respected.’ Yet, despite this proclamation, nothing changed.”
Buwalda went on to say, “Special Rapporteur Muntarbhorn has taken the
legal definition of a ‘refugee’ from the 1951 Convention and the 1967
Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and properly applied it to
North Koreans who flee their homeland. In paragraph 44 of his report,
Muntarbhorn emphatically stated, ‘In general, those leaving the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea for political reasons fit into
the traditional international law definition of 'refugee,' namely
persons fleeing their country of origin for a well-founded fear of
persecution.’"
CHINA SAYS THEY ARE “ECONOMIC MIGRANTS”
She said that China, a signatory to the 1951 Convention and 1967
Protocol, has “persistently sought” to characterize all North Koreans
fleeing into its territory as "economic migrants," thereby justifying
its abrogation of its treaty requirement of non-refoulement of North
Koreans fleeing across its border. International refugee law experts
have repeatedly asserted that the second part of the definition of a
refugee provides protection to anyone found to be a "refugee sur
place," or someone unwilling to return to her country for fear of
persecution on account of events occurring after her flight.
Buwalda then said, “Muntarbhorn, in paragraph 45, also affords
protection to such persons, considering the North Korean government's
harsh treatment of repatriated defectors, which includes imprisonment,
torture, internment in labor camps, forced abortions, infanticide and
even execution.
NORTH KOREAN CHRISTIANS GET THE WORST TREATMENT
“The harshest treatment of refugees refouled to North Korea has been
reportedly reserved for North Korean citizens who embraced Christianity
while in China. Many Christians in the border provinces of China have
provided food, shelter and protection to North Korean refugees. Many of
these refugees embraced Christianity as a result. Repatriated defectors
who have managed to escape again after interrogation and internment in
North Korea consistently report intense questioning about Christianity
and contacts with Christians in China. Those carrying a Bible or
Christian literature are more severely punished.
“Moreover, China conducts intense campaigns to disassemble volunteer
aid and support systems that provide for refugees along the border
provinces; it has made assisting this population a criminal act. In
addition to imprisoning and imposing severe fines on humanitarian aid
workers, China provides substantial bounty money on the heads of
displaced North Koreans and on those who help them. Many Christian aid
workers from South Korea have suffered imprisonment in China, drawn-out
court cases, torture in Chinese custody and, in some cases, have even
been handed over to North Korean authorities.”
She said that one such Christian aid worker -- the wheel-chair bound
Reverend Kim Dong-Shik -- was abducted by North Korean agents in China
and disappeared into North Korea without a trace. On December 14, 2004,
the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office released its finding
that, indeed, South Korean citizen and US permanent resident Kim
Dong-Shik had been abducted by DPRK agents in northeast China in
January 2000 and taken forcibly into North Korea.
CHRISTIAN ABDUCTED BY NORTH KOREAN AGENTS
“In addition,” Buwalda continued, “Jubilee has heard conflicting
reports about Rev. Kim's current status. Some reports allege that he
died in custody in February 2001. Others dispute the date of his death;
still others question whether he died at all. Following the findings by
the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office, twenty Illinois
lawmakers, led by Congressman Henry Hyde, have written letters of
protest to North Korea on behalf of their constituent (Rev. Kim had
lived in Chicago).
“They also criticized the South Korean government, noting that when a
government neglects its first duty of protecting its citizens, it loses
its reason to exist. Jubilee Campaign has filed a petition with the UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of the Rev. Kim
Dong-Shik and will attend meetings next week with his wife at
Congressman Hyde's office.
“Jubilee Campaign will redouble our efforts to ensure that the UN High
Commissioner takes note of the Special Rapporteur's report, which has
made a public affirmation of refugee status for North Koreans --
something the High Commissioner's own agency has utterly failed to do.
China must afford unimpeded access to these refugees. The UNHCR must
enforce China's treaty obligations and seek unimpeded access through
binding arbitration. The international community is morally and legally
obliged via treaty mechanisms to protect these refugees.”
MILESTONE DECLARATION
She concluded by saying, “Jubilee Campaign believes this milestone
declaration by the Special Rapporteur will reverberate throughout the
UN. Jubilee volunteers Tarik Radwan and Jae Won, both professors at
Handong International Law School in Korea, were the first to meet with
the Special Rapporteur following his appointment; they wasted no time
in making the case for these beleaguered refugees. Jubilee Campaign has
again been asked to assist in coordinating efforts at the annual
meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission this spring, to
call for the protection of North Korean refugees.”
NORTH KOREA IS STILL THE WORST PERSECUTOR OF CHRISTIANS IN
THE WORLD SAYS OPEN DOORS
According to a report issued last year by Open Doors, the isolated
communist nation of North Korea still remains atop of its “World Watch
List” of countries where Christians are persecuted. The annual list
ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians
face for actively pursuing their faith. (Pictured:
Kim Jong Il).
 For years, very little
information about the church emerged from Kim Il Sung’s harsh North
Korean regime, which is now ruled by his son, Kim Jong Il. Recent
years, however, have seen a relative “flood” of information coming from
North Korean refugees fleeing to China. They report that the church has
not only survived but grown. To visibly practice the Christian faith in
North Korea today can still result in imprisonment and death. North
Korea is ranked atop the World Watch List for the third straight time. (Pictured: Kim Jong Il and father Kim Il
Sung).
“North Korea is the most repressed and isolated nation in the world…it
certainly deserves its hall of shame ranking on the World Watch List,”
says Dr. Carl Moeller, President of Open Doors USA. “It breaks my heart
to hear some of the atrocities against our brothers and sisters there.
Tens of thousands of Christians are among 200,000 prisoners held in
politico-labor camps. Yet we hear reports of how the church in North
Korea continues to grow. Let’s continue to lift up the needs of our
fellow believers in North Korea and in all the countries on the list.”
Note: Dan Wooding is one of the few Christian journalists ever allowed
into North Korea where he reported from around the country. He joined
the first delegation that went to North Korea after the funeral of Kim
Il Sung and filed daily reports for the UPI Radio Network in
Washington, DC.
For more information on Jubilee Campaign USA’s reports on North Korea,
contact:
Ann Buwalda
Email: jubilee@jubileecampaign.org
- Phone: 703-503-0791 - Web: www.jubileecampaign.org.
Dan Wooding is an award winning
British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife
Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to
Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS).
Wooding is the co-host of the weekly radio show, "Window on the World"
and was, for ten years a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in
Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of
which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published
by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com.
danjuma1@aol.com. (Pictured: Dan Wooding at DMZ in North Korea with North
Korean officer and Michael Little, President of CBN).
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