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Use your voice to speak out against China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees

Voice your concern for North Korean refugees. Write a letter to the Chinese Ambassador, Fu Ying, asking her to urge China's government to change its policy of forced repatriation.

Millions in North Korea face famine, desperate poverty and persecution. Unsurprisingly, many flee to China.

But China forcibly repatriates these refugees, sending them back to North Korea to face torture, imprisonment and sometimes execution. Those refugees who have come into contact with Christians, or admit to becoming a Christian, face particularly severe treatment.

China's government refuses to give refuge to any North Koreans or allow them safe passage to another country. Instead, it invests heavily in catching refugees, knowing that horrendous abuses await them on their return to North Korea. What’s more, Chinese citizens who assist the refugees are harassed or detained by Chinese officials.

China is contravening its obligations as a signatory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Although the 1951 Convention prescribes free access to the refugees, China does not allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to North Korean refugees.

Find out more about life in North Korea and the repatriation of North Korean refugees here.

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H.E.Mme Fu Ying
Ambassador
Chinese Embassy to the UK
49-51 Portland Place
London
W1B 1JL

Subject

Your Excellency,

I recognise there have been many positive developments in your country over the last decade but I appeal to you to urge your government to stop its continuing policy of forced and violent repatriations; sending desperate North Korean refugees back to North Korea where they face torture, imprisonment and sometimes even death.

Please remind your government of its obligations to North Korean refugees under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.

China should not avoid its responsibilities by wrongly categorising North Korean asylum seekers and refugees as illegal immigrants. Even if North Koreans go to China solely to find food, once there they may face imprisonment on their return to North Korea. This means that many North Korean migrants become 'refugees sur place' or people entitled to protection as refugees because of the risk of persecution they face should they return.

I respectfully ask China's government to implement a legal process through which North Koreans can obtain refugee or asylum status in China. I further request that you allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) immediate access to the China-North Korea border region to interview asylum seekers.

I also ask that Chinese citizens who assist the refugees are no longer harassed or detained by Chinese officials.

I appreciate China's concern about a possible influx of North Korean refugees, but I would like to refer you to the UNHCR's obligation to support China financially with regard to refugees and to open up UN countries for North Korean refugee resettlement.

Please show the world China's goodwill and leadership by adhering to your obligations to North Korean refugees.

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Use your voice to speak out against China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees

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