"Abduction and Sexual Assault Immediately After Crossing the Border: The Harsh Reality of North Korean Defectors in China"

"Lost Consciousness After Eating Apple"... Forced Marriage After Being Kidnapped in China
Vulnerable Status and Position Worsened by North Korea's Forced Repatriation Policy
"Pressure Needed at UN to Prevent Concealment of China's Situation"

#. Ms. A, a woman living in the border area between North Korea and China, one day received a 'Chinese apple' from a neighbor. After eating half of the apple, which is said to be so rare in North Korea, she lost consciousness and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in Changbai, China. She had been sold to China while unconscious after eating the 'strange apple.' Ms. A was handed over to a rural village in China, whose location she did not know, and was forcibly married to a man she had never seen before. Her tragic life did not end there. Although she was kidnapped rather than defecting, Ms. A, who was later forcibly repatriated to North Korea, was taken to a re-education camp for crossing the border without 'official permission.'

#. Ms. B, who crossed the border holding tightly the hands of her mother and older sister, experienced a horrific ordeal from the very first day she set foot in China. As dusk fell, while the three women were wandering aimlessly around the mountain, a vehicle with headlights on rushed toward them and snatched the older sister away. The sister was brutally sexually assaulted after being taken to an unknown place, and meanwhile, the mother, who sought help by finding a lit house, was also subjected to abuse by an ethnic Korean Chinese man. After many hardships, they reunited with the sister who had been abandoned on the street, but the final destination for the three women was hell again. They were sold by a North Korean defector broker.

North Korea's Forced Repatriation Policy... Led to 'Organized Human Trafficking'

In September 2018, North Korean women dressed in hanbok participated in the "International March for Peace, Prosperity, and Reunification of Korea" held on the outskirts of Pyongyang.
[Image source=AFP·Getty image]

Our human rights organizations have submitted a report investigating the human rights violations against North Korean women defectors in China to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The report highlights the close connection between China's policy of forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors and the organized human trafficking of North Korean women defectors.

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 13th, three human rights organizations?North Korea Human Rights Citizens Alliance (NKHR), Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), and Institute for North Korean Human Rights (INKHR)?submitted a joint report on the human rights abuses of North Korean women defectors in China to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the 10th. The committee is scheduled to review the status of women's rights in China on the 12th of next month, and this is the first time a report raising the issue of North Korean women defectors in China has been submitted to the committee. The report is expected to be used to counter the Chinese government's denial and concealment of human rights violations against North Korean women defectors.

The report pointed out that China's forced repatriation policy has led to widespread and organized human trafficking of North Korean women defectors. Furthermore, it expressed concerns about secondary harm experienced by children born to these women, forced family separations, and other related issues. It also repeatedly emphasized the need to question the Chinese government about human trafficking, victim compensation, and protection policies for North Korean women and girls in China, and to recommend improvements.

Although the Chinese government does not recognize North Korean defectors in China as refugees, at minimum, defectors are considered humanitarian cases under the UN Refugee Status Convention. Accordingly, the Chinese government could serve as a transit country to connect defectors to third countries such as South Korea, but instead chooses to forcibly repatriate them to North Korea. This also violates the international Convention Against Torture, which was a point of controversy during the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen.

The international community is also paying attention to this issue. Earlier, Elizabeth Salm?n, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, expressed concern during her visit to South Korea in September last year, stating, "Those repatriated to North Korea are highly likely to face harsh punishment, torture, and other unfair treatment." The '2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices' released by the U.S. Department of State at the end of last month also pointed out, "The Chinese government considers North Koreans not as refugees but as 'illegal economic migrants' and forcibly returns them to North Korea," adding, "Repatriated defectors face harsh punishments such as torture, forced abortion, forced labor, sexual violence, or death."

'We Have No Problem' China's Pressure... "South Korean Government Must Also Prevent Repatriation"

Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping Toasting
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The report diagnosed that the so-called 'war on human trafficking' declared by the Chinese government has actually promoted organized human trafficking of North Korean women defectors. For example, even if they were kidnapped and taken away, the reason they cannot resist is the fear of punishment or being sent to re-education camps if they return to North Korea. Women become the 'primary targets' of human trafficking, forced marriage, and sexual crimes, but the fear of forced repatriation creates conditions where they cannot resist.

According to the report, the revenue generated from North Korean women and girls being forced into marriage or prostitution in China is estimated to be $150 million (approximately 197 billion KRW). This indicates the vast scale of human trafficking involving North Korean women defectors in China.

Since such a report is being presented at a forum discussing women's rights in China, it is expected to exert considerable pressure on the Chinese government. As a member state of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, China has an obligation to take appropriate measures to suppress 'all forms of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of women' within its territory. Human rights abuses against North Korean women defectors in China are also a critical issue for the Chinese government, which has promoted the advancement of women's rights since the 1995 Beijing Women's Conference Declaration.

The human rights organizations involved in the investigation repeatedly emphasized that a strong message must be delivered to the Chinese government through this report at the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. They stressed the need to clarify the clear realities, such as how many defectors have been forcibly repatriated to North Korea through China's so-called 'war on human trafficking,' whether there have been any cases where traffickers of North Korean women defectors have been sentenced, and whether the Chinese government has recommended legal and medical support for victims.

Ji-yoon Lee, campaign team leader at the North Korea Human Rights Citizens Alliance, said, "We prepared this report to reveal the close causal relationship between China's forced repatriation policy and the human trafficking of North Korean women defectors," adding, "Forced repatriation not only makes the status and position of North Korean women defectors in China more vulnerable but also perpetuates human rights violations for the children born to them." She urged, "Our government should also actively request information related to human trafficking victims from the Chinese government and seek cooperation to prevent defectors from being forcibly repatriated."