From Anti-Slavery International, HRH has received the following article on trafficking of women from North Korea to the People´s Republic of China, and China’s subsequent repatriation of those caught. The story confirms previous accounts of severe mistreatment, including torture, lengthy labour camp imprisonment and, in some instances, execution. (10-MAY-05)

Anti-Slavery International, who has released this article, is a key player in the international civil society effort to draw attention to the severe human rights situation in North Korea. In this endeavour, it co-operates with another leading organisation; the Citizen’s Alliance for North Korean Human Rights. Leading up to next year’s North Korean Human Rights and Refugees’ international conference in Bergen, HRH will cooperate closely with the Citizen’s Alliance, both politically and administratively and most probably also draw upon Anti-Slavery International’s particular expertise. The article has been edited for republication here. 

The United Nations estimates that more than two million people died during the 1995-1998 famine in the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea (DPRK), more commonly known as North Korea. The famine triggered an exodus of North Koreans into neighbouring the People´s Republic of China in search of food and work and the continuing food crisis means this flow of migrants has continued. Up to ten years later, the consequences are undeniably clear. While some of those fleeing into the People´s Republic of China are refugees seeking to escape persecution from the Kim Jong-il Government, the majority of North Koreans crossing the border are women trying to survive and to earn money to send back to their families in North Korea.

Chinese police halts North Korean refugees in their attempt to enter the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, to apply for asylum and reach freedom from there.   

Trafficking in women
In this context, traffickers seek out North Korean women to exploit at border areas, train stations and markets. Traffickers promise food, employment and shelter, but the women involved can find themselves forced to marry Chinese men or work in brothels and karaoke bars. While some North Koreans willingly agree to marriages in the People´s Republic of China, others are sold as brides for anywhere from 400-10,000 yuan (US$50-1,250). It is difficult for women in a forced marriage to escape, as they are isolated from any support. Marriages involving undocumented North Korean women are not legally binding and if discovered by Chinese authorities, these women face deportation.

Forcible repatriation
Leaving North Korea without permission is a criminal offence that can carry the death penalty, so deportation carries very serious consequences. At the very least, those deported will spend between one and three months in detention in which they are likely to become malnourished, live in unsanitary conditions and be subjected to forced labour. There are also testimonies of beatings, torture, degrading treatment, and even forced abortions and infanticide from those who have escaped.

Refugees sur place
Estimates of the numbers of North Koreans living illegally in the People´s Republic of China vary considerably, but there are at least 50,000 in the People´s Republic of China, mainly in Jilin Province. Acknowledging the dangers of deporting irregular migrants back to North Korea, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea recognised in his 2005 Report that North Koreans in the People´s Republic of China are refugees sur place, that is, those “who did not leave their country of origin for fear of persecution, but who fear persecution upon return”. Despite this, and the fact that the People´s Republic of China is a party to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits the forced return of refugees, the Chinese Government continues to deport North Koreans who do not have regular immigration status. the People´s Republic of China maintains that the North Koreans are economic migrants yet denies the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to screen the North Koreans in the People´s Republic of China.

Choon-ae?s story
Kim Choon-ae and her 15-year-old daughter, Kim Hee-kyung, are from Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. In 1997 they left North Korea during the food crisis to find work in the People´s Republic of China. “To get into the People´s Republic of China, we crossed the icy Tumen River in the middle of the night. During the first month, my daughter was abducted from the house where I worked as a nanny. She was sold for 4,000 yuan (US$480) and forced to marry a man in a remote rural village. To get her back, I had to pay 4,000 yuan. After two years in the People´s Republic of China, four men came to our house at night and kidnapped us. They were planning to sell us as ?brides? to men in a mining town for 10,000 yuan ($1,200) each. My daughter was so scared that she couldn?t eat anything. The neighbours, suspecting foul play, called the police. My daughter and I spent 40 days in a Chinese detention centre before being deported to North Korea.

-They threw stones at us
In North Korea, we were stripped naked, checked for hidden money and sent to a labour camp on the border in Musan. My daughter was beaten and interrogated on whether we met any South Koreans or missionaries in the People´s Republic of China. All we had for food was porridge made from black, rotten flour and watery soup. We worked in the cabbage patches and carried heavy wood from the mountains. The guards threw stones at us if we weren?t quick enough.” Kim Choon-ae escaped after four days, but Hee-kyung remained imprisoned for two and a half months. In 2003, Choon-ae left the People´s Republic of China for South Korea via Vietnam and Cambodia. Today she lives in Seoul with her three children. Choon-ae works in sales and heads an organisation that raises public awareness about North Korea. Her children are all working or studying.

Take action
Women are being trafficked between North Korea and the People´s Republic of China and when found, forcibly repatriated and held in detention camps in horrific conditions. Go to www.stophumantraffic.org/country.html and write to Ms Wendy Chamberlin, Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. You can also find out how to write to your local elected representative on this page. Or copy and paste the letter below into a fresh email and send it to Wendy Chamberlin at chamberw@unhcr.ch – though remember that using your own words will carry more weight.

Sample email:
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Subject: Forced deportation of North Koreans from the People´s Republic of China

Dear Wendy Chamberlin

I am writing to express my concern over the forced deportation of irregular migrants from the People´s Republic of China back to North Korea.

North Koreans, especially women, fleeing the country to escape persecution or in search of a means of survival for themselves and their families, are vulnerable to being exploited by traffickers who seek them out at border areas, train stations and markets. These women can find themselves forced to marry Chinese men or work in brothels and karaoke bars. Marriages involving undocumented North Koeran women are not legally binding and if discovered by the Chinese authorities, these women face deportation.

As you are aware, leaving North Korea without permission is a criminal offence that can carry the death penalty, so deportation carries very serious consequences. Deported North Koreans are likely to be exposed to degrading and inhumane treatment, including imprisonment and forced labour. Acknowledging the dangers of deporting irregular migrants back to North Korea, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea recognised in his 2005 Report that such North Koreans are refugees sur place.

Despite this, and the fact that the People´s Republic of China is a party to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the Chinese Government continues to deport North Koreans who do not have regular immigration status. As you know, while the People´s Republic of China maintains that these North Koreans are economic migrants, they deny the UNHCR access to screen the North Koreans in the People´s Republic of China.

I would therefore urge you to publicly oppose the forcible repatriation of North Koreans from the People´s Republic of China or from any other country and do your utmost to gain access to North Koreans in the People´s Republic of China, in order to assess their individual circumstances and to seek a safe and permanent solution to their situation.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,