North Korean Human Rights Group Asks Salmon Rapporteur to Verify Life Status of Forcibly Repatriated Defectors

"Authority for Investigation and Detention of North Korean Defectors Transferred from NIS to Ministry of Justice"

Elizabeth Salmone, UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] North Korean human rights organizations have sent an open letter to Elizabeth Salmon, the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights, requesting her to confirm with North Korea the whereabouts and survival of defecting fishermen who were forcibly repatriated.

On the 24th, 27 North Korean human rights organizations, including the Transition Working Group, announced that in their letter to Special Rapporteur Salmon, they urged her to verify with North Korea the survival and whereabouts of two defecting fishermen who were forcibly repatriated in November 2019.

These organizations also requested that she ask the South Korean government to ▲legislate the granting of South Korean nationality to defectors who express an intention to change their allegiance ▲transfer the authority for investigating and detaining defectors from the National Intelligence Service to the Ministry of Justice ▲establish laws including the principle of prohibition of forced repatriation.

The 'forced repatriation of defecting fishermen' refers to the incident in November 2019 when two North Korean men who defected after a murder on board were sent back to North Korea by the South Korean government against their will to defect.

Earlier, in a press conference during her visit to South Korea in September, Special Rapporteur Salmon expressed concern about this incident, stating, "It is very worrying that any defector becomes subject to forced repatriation," and added, "I want to emphasize that the principle of prohibition of forced repatriation must be respected by the South Korean government as well."

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