The All-Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea, which Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP Co-Chairs, and the Institute of National Unification, along with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in London, co-hosted a human rights conference in Parliament this week.

The conference was a chance to discuss the White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea, those who attended heard harrowing first-hand accounts from North Korean refugees who had been imprisoned and tortured by the North Korean regime. Many, sadly, had lost family members or knew they were still in North Korea with no way of contacting them.  

The conference came one week following the concerning reports that China had forcibly repatriated 600 North Korean refugees. It is believed that many of those repatriated were women and children, who are now at severe risk of imprisonment, torture, detention in prison camps, and even execution.  

The repatriated North Korean refugees are treated as ‘criminals’ or ‘traitors’ by North Korean authorities, and they face harsh punishments under charges of treason if they are found to have any connections with Westerners, missionaries, churches, or intended to go to the Republic of Korea. These punishments may involve imprisonment without legal process, enforced disappearances, detention in prison camps for life, and even execution. This is one of the reasons why there are hundreds of thousands of individuals detained in labour and prison camps, making it one of the largest prison nations in the world.  

The APPG North Korea strongly urges Chinese authorities to immediately cease the longstanding practice of forcible repatriation, which has persisted for the past 20 years. China needs to uphold international law and abide by the principle of non-refoulement. It calls upon China to fulfill its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention by facilitating a safe passage for refugees to transit through safe third countries and finally reach South Korea. 

The APPG North Korea has also called on the British Government to initiate diplomatic dialogue with Chinese authorities and encourage them to deport North Korean refugees to third countries, instead of returning them to North Korea, where they can receive assistance from the Government of the Republic of Korea in accordance with the One Korea policy. 

The APPG North Korea also strongly calls on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea authorities to comply with their international legal obligations concerning all returned escapees, especially women, children, and pregnant women. This includes upholding the absolute prohibition on torture, imprisonment, preventing enforced disappearances, ensuring the prohibition of arbitrary detention in labour and prison camps, and guaranteeing fair trial rights.  

Commenting, the Co-Chair of the APPG North Korea Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said:  

“Mr. Michael Kirby Chair of the UN report into Human Rights in North Korea said that Human rights abuses in North Korea is without parallel anywhere else in the world. That is why I Co-Chair the All-Party Parliamentary North Korea Group, to try to improve the life for these poor oppressed people”.