Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Repatriated Fishermen: "Anti-Torture Convention Should Apply to Suspected Criminals"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated regarding the 2019 repatriation of North Korean fishermen under the Moon Jae-in administration that "(the Convention Against Torture) is generally interpreted to apply equally to criminal suspects as well."

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 19th that the Moon Jae-in administration's response sent to the UN Human Rights Council in February 2020 regarding the repatriation contained "inappropriate content."

The response at the time mentioned that it had closely examined whether this case falls under Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture, which states that "No State Party shall expel, return ('refouler') or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture."

It then presented the judgment that repatriation did not violate the Convention Against Torture, citing the heinous criminal charges against the North Korean fishermen and the risk of harm to public safety in Korea if they were detained domestically.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stated a changed position, saying, "This is an absolute principle that applies without exception regardless of an individual's actions, and the general interpretation is that it should apply equally to criminal suspects."

Furthermore, although Article 16, Paragraph 2 of the Convention Against Torture states that the Convention "shall not affect the application of domestic law regarding the extradition or expulsion of criminals," the Ministry explained that this does not mean domestic law takes precedence over the Convention.

As this case became controversial again, on the 15th the Ministry of Foreign Affairs distributed a statement to reporters reversing its previous explanation, saying, "It is true that our response included insufficient or inappropriate content when viewed against the standards of universal international human rights norms."