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omonatheydidEnvoy voices caution over stronger action against China's repatriation of N.K. defectors
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea continues to press China to stop repatriating North Korean defectors found within its borders, but taking those demands to a higher level will require further consideration, Seoul's top envoy to Beijing said Monday.
The remarks by Ambassador Lee Kyu-hyung came after local media reported Sunday that South Korea will soon urge China to comply with international treaties banning the repatriation of refugees to risk-prone areas.
South Korean lawmakers and human rights activists have recently stepped up demands calling for China to stop repatriating defectors following reports that dozens of North Koreans were rounded up earlier this month to be sent back to their home country. In the North, the defectors reportedly face harsh persecution and even execution.
"We repeatedly stress (to the Chinese) that this issue must be dealt with from a humanitarian standpoint," the ambassador told reporters in Seoul during a visit to attend an annual conference of overseas mission chiefs. "China holds on to the belief that the defectors are illegal economic migrants. In the end, it is up to the Chinese government to decide."
The issue of North Korean defectors has long been handled through bilateral diplomatic channels, although with little reported progress. Seoul maintains a longstanding policy to accept any North Korean defectors who wish to live in the South. China, meanwhile, is bound by a treaty with the North to send back what they regard as illegal migrants.
"On whether we can call on China to comply with its duties under international treaties (to which it is a party), I believe we will come to a policy decision after considering various aspects," Lee said.
Tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, hoping to travel to Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea, home to more than 23,000 North Korean defectors.
-----
Petition from Change.org
Dear _____,
Moses Bak's* childhood friend faces imminent execution, but with your help, he can save her.
She and two dozen North Korean refugees in China are in a terrifying limbo -- the Chinese government wants to deport them back to North Korea, where the new "Supreme Leader" Kim Jong-Un is cracking down by shooting defectors on sight and vowing to kill "three generations" of their families.
Moses escaped the nightmare of surveillance, intimidation, human rights abuses and famine in North Korea -- he's a refugee now living in Seoul, South Korea. But a young woman he’s known since they were kids in North Korea is in the group currently being detained in China.
"We have cried our eyes out," Moses and his friends say, certain the young woman will be executed if she's returned to North Korea. Moses's only hope is that international pressure can save her -- he started a petition on Change.org calling on world leaders including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the EU's Catherine Ashton to do everything they can to stop China from deporting his friend and others back to North Korea.
Click here to sign Moses's petition telling world leaders to stop China from sending two dozen refugees back to North Korea, where they face imprisonment and execution.
North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, is ruthlessly cracking down to assert his new authority since his father, Kim Jong-Il, died. In December, Kim Jong-Un told border guards to shoot defectors on sight rather than sending them to reeducation camps and decreed defectors' families would also be killed.
But one deadline for the deportation of these refugees has already passed, signaling that China knows it will have blood on its hands if it follows through. China may be bending to international pressure, but needs to hear more from other global leaders to release the refugees to South Korea.
Already, more than 30,000 people have signed Moses's petition. In November, 35,000 people signed a petition on Change.org asking Secretary Clinton to call for the release of political prisoners in Burma -- and she did. She also spoke out for women’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia after receiving a Change.org petition. If every person who cares about human rights signs Moses's petition, world leaders like Secretary Clinton will listen again.
Click here to sign North Korean refugee Moses Bak's petition calling on Secretary Clinton and other world leaders to stop China from sending two dozen defectors back to North Korea, where they will face imprisonment and execution.
Thanks for being a change-maker,
- Sarah and the Change.org team
*Moses Bak is a pseudonym to protect the petition creator’s identity and safety.
Source: Yonhap News, Change.org
This is unbelievable... Mods, I hope you guys can let this post through.
Even if we're at the safety of our own homes, behind our computers, we can still contribute to change. :)
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea continues to press China to stop repatriating North Korean defectors found within its borders, but taking those demands to a higher level will require further consideration, Seoul's top envoy to Beijing said Monday.
The remarks by Ambassador Lee Kyu-hyung came after local media reported Sunday that South Korea will soon urge China to comply with international treaties banning the repatriation of refugees to risk-prone areas.
South Korean lawmakers and human rights activists have recently stepped up demands calling for China to stop repatriating defectors following reports that dozens of North Koreans were rounded up earlier this month to be sent back to their home country. In the North, the defectors reportedly face harsh persecution and even execution.
"We repeatedly stress (to the Chinese) that this issue must be dealt with from a humanitarian standpoint," the ambassador told reporters in Seoul during a visit to attend an annual conference of overseas mission chiefs. "China holds on to the belief that the defectors are illegal economic migrants. In the end, it is up to the Chinese government to decide."
The issue of North Korean defectors has long been handled through bilateral diplomatic channels, although with little reported progress. Seoul maintains a longstanding policy to accept any North Korean defectors who wish to live in the South. China, meanwhile, is bound by a treaty with the North to send back what they regard as illegal migrants.
"On whether we can call on China to comply with its duties under international treaties (to which it is a party), I believe we will come to a policy decision after considering various aspects," Lee said.
Tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, hoping to travel to Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries before resettling in South Korea, home to more than 23,000 North Korean defectors.
-----
Petition from Change.org
Dear _____,
Moses Bak's* childhood friend faces imminent execution, but with your help, he can save her.
She and two dozen North Korean refugees in China are in a terrifying limbo -- the Chinese government wants to deport them back to North Korea, where the new "Supreme Leader" Kim Jong-Un is cracking down by shooting defectors on sight and vowing to kill "three generations" of their families.
Moses escaped the nightmare of surveillance, intimidation, human rights abuses and famine in North Korea -- he's a refugee now living in Seoul, South Korea. But a young woman he’s known since they were kids in North Korea is in the group currently being detained in China.
"We have cried our eyes out," Moses and his friends say, certain the young woman will be executed if she's returned to North Korea. Moses's only hope is that international pressure can save her -- he started a petition on Change.org calling on world leaders including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the EU's Catherine Ashton to do everything they can to stop China from deporting his friend and others back to North Korea.
Click here to sign Moses's petition telling world leaders to stop China from sending two dozen refugees back to North Korea, where they face imprisonment and execution.
North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, is ruthlessly cracking down to assert his new authority since his father, Kim Jong-Il, died. In December, Kim Jong-Un told border guards to shoot defectors on sight rather than sending them to reeducation camps and decreed defectors' families would also be killed.
But one deadline for the deportation of these refugees has already passed, signaling that China knows it will have blood on its hands if it follows through. China may be bending to international pressure, but needs to hear more from other global leaders to release the refugees to South Korea.
Already, more than 30,000 people have signed Moses's petition. In November, 35,000 people signed a petition on Change.org asking Secretary Clinton to call for the release of political prisoners in Burma -- and she did. She also spoke out for women’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia after receiving a Change.org petition. If every person who cares about human rights signs Moses's petition, world leaders like Secretary Clinton will listen again.
Click here to sign North Korean refugee Moses Bak's petition calling on Secretary Clinton and other world leaders to stop China from sending two dozen defectors back to North Korea, where they will face imprisonment and execution.
Thanks for being a change-maker,
- Sarah and the Change.org team
*Moses Bak is a pseudonym to protect the petition creator’s identity and safety.
Source: Yonhap News, Change.org
This is unbelievable... Mods, I hope you guys can let this post through.
Even if we're at the safety of our own homes, behind our computers, we can still contribute to change. :)
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no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 09:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-25 01:45 am (UTC)I cannot imagine being born into that hell, and thinking that I could get to freedom if I could make it to China and then BAM. Now that I have children, this stuff really gets to me. :(
no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 07:58 pm (UTC)hopefully ore ppl will visit the post
no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 08:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 09:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 09:07 pm (UTC)"shooting defectors on sight and vowing to kill "three generations" of their families." Holy fucking shit.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 09:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-24 11:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-25 12:12 am (UTC)definitely gonna use it more often!
no subject
Date: 2012-02-25 01:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-25 12:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-25 01:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-25 01:58 pm (UTC)