Korea, First 'Defector Human Rights' Recommendation to China at UN Human Rights Review

At a session reviewing China's human rights situation, the South Korean government recommended that China protect North Korean defectors facing unfair human rights treatment and comply with international regulations.

Yoon Sung-deok, South Korea's ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, stated on the 23rd (local time) during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China held at the UN Geneva Office, "We recommend that China provide appropriate protection for defectors from overseas, including North Korean defectors." This is the first time the South Korean government has directly raised the human rights issues of North Korean defectors in a UPR targeting China.

Ambassador Yoon also presented recommendations such as respecting international norms including the principle of non-refoulement and considering the enactment of domestic refugee laws as efforts to implement the 1951 Refugee Convention adopted by the international community. He said, "We welcome China's measures to alleviate poverty in rural areas and to promote citizens' environmental rights," and added, "We hope the Chinese government will take steps to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

The UPR is a system in which the 193 UN member states take turns regularly reviewing their own human rights situations and the implementation of recommendations by other member states. South Korea's UPR was last year.

During the third UPR of China in 2018 under the Moon Jae-in administration, no questions related to North Korean defectors were raised. In the second UPR in 2013 under the Park Geun-hye administration, refugee protection issues such as adherence to the principle of non-refoulement were mentioned in on-site remarks, but North Korea was not explicitly referenced.

Ahead of this fourth UPR of China, the South Korean government sent preliminary written questions for the first time, inquiring about China's stance on the North Korean defector issue. The questions included procedures for refugee applications accessible to defectors from North Korea and other overseas origins, protection and support measures for North Korean and overseas female defectors exposed to human trafficking, forced marriage, and other forms of exploitation, and protection and support measures for children born in China to North Korean and overseas defectors classified as illegal residents under Chinese domestic law.

The delegation led by Chen Xu, China's ambassador to the United Nations Office at Geneva, self-assessed that their country's level of human rights protection has greatly improved and that they have continuously strived for international human rights exchanges, stating, "We will ensure equitable access to basic public services and work towards the equal enjoyment of human rights."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.