China: An Obligation to Protect Women Refugees

By Hayley Noah, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor and Benjamin Fu, HRNK Research Intern

September 18, 2020

​​North Korean refugees are not always thought of as refugees, with terminology like ‘defector’ or ‘escapee’ often used instead. In South Korea as well, by virtue of the constitution that states any Korean on the peninsula is considered a citizen of the Republic of Korea, they are not labeled refugees. However, North Koreans who escape from their country are fundamentally refugees, and, as such, they deserve the international protections that the United Nations affords to refugees pursuant to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol outline. The 1951 Convention states that a refugee is someone who has a:

well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.​[1]
 
In a discussion about North Korean refugees, a critical part of the convention is the stipulation in Article 33 against refoulement, which states that “a refugee should not be returned to a country where he or she faces serious threats to his or her life or freedom.”[2] The 1967 Protocol then “broadens the applicability of the 1951 Convention… remov[ing] the geographical and time limits that were part of the 1951 Convention.”[3]
 
In 1982, China signed both the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. However, China’s determination to classify North Korean refugees as “economic migrants” to avoid affording them refugee status means that those refugees are in danger of forced repatriation and subjected to gross human rights violations. [4]  The February 2014 Report of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) identifies human rights abuses experienced by those the Chinese government forcibly repatriates. Upon repatriation, refugees are at risk of being sent to political prison camps, persecution, and torture. Refugees who contacted South Koreans or Christian organizations are at even higher risk, and women who became pregnant outside North Korea are subjected to forced abortions and sexual violence.[5] While all North Korean refugees are in danger, the plight of women refugees is especially harrowing. Thus, it is necessary to give this vulnerable group special attention.
           
​Upon repatriation, officials oftentimes sexually assault and humiliate North Korean women. To confirm that the women have not concealed valuables on their persons, they are made to strip naked and perform jumping exercises to dislodge anything hidden in rectal or vaginal cavities.[6] Women believed to have become pregnant with Chinese men are forced to abort their babies, as the regime condemns the mixing of the North Korean “race” with an “un-pure” one.[7] Women in late stages of pregnancy are not immune to this practice. In one account, when a woman refused to abort, prison guards ordered male prisoners to jump on her stomach until the baby was killed. When babies are born at the end of a full term or manage to survive an abortion, despite the odds, North Korean guards are ordered to kill them. According to multiple accounts, newborns are placed in buckets and left to die.[8]
 
If China acted in accordance with its international commitments, the government would also lessen the plight of North Korean women refugees while in China. Chinese authorities actively track North Korean refugees through phone data,[9] providing North Korean officials with “information on those apprehended,”[10] and increasing surveillance along the China-North Korea border.[11] According to the 2014 UN COI Report, as the Chinese government denies protections to female North Koreans, these women oftentimes are forced into human trafficking “for the purposes of exploitation in forced marriage or concubinage, or prostitution under coercive circumstances.”[12]

In China’s Northeast, where the ratio of men to women is highly skewed, human traffickers view North Korean women as a commodity for single men. To fill this demand, traffickers, who sometimes approach with offers of help, sell North Korean women to prospective “husbands.” Once forced into marriage, the women are at the mercy of their “husbands” and their families, as their lack of legal protection means that they have no legal recourse in case they are subjected to physical or emotional abuse.[13] Additionally, the 2014 UN COI Report estimates that 20,000 children born of North Korean women refugees “are deprived of their rights to birth registration, nationality, education and health care” because official registration would put the mothers in danger of forced repatriation.[14] Female refugees have also testified that many women are forced to leave their children behind in China in order to avoid capture when fleeing, although this is not always the case, as there are a wide range of reasons why women refugees have had to leave their children.[15]

Even if they manage to evade traffickers, there is still little reason for hope. North Korean refugees in China are legally unemployable. China’s decision to classify them as “illegal economic migrants” means that employers have power over those North Koreans they choose to hire illegally, and reporting by neighbors is a constant threat.[16] In an effort to earn an income, many North Korean women are also forced to turn to prostitution, such as in China’s Shandong Province, where an influx of South Korean businessmen has created a demand for prostitution.[17] It is evident that the constant threat of repatriation adversely affects North Koreans in China, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.     
 
Ultimately, the plight of North Korean women refugees will not be solved until the North Korean regime ends its cruel practice of harshly punishing those who attempt to leave the country without approval. However, China has no excuse to refuse the protection of refugees. If China is concerned about its relationship with North Korea, one should note that the 1951 Convention specifically states that signatories “granting asylum is a peaceful, humanitarian and legal act rather than a hostile gesture, and should be understood by the refugee’s country of origin as such.”[18] China needs to listen to the calls of human rights organizations urging them to respect the rights of refugees and stop the practice of refoulement. While China is not the only country that has a role to play in protecting North Korean refugees, its position is vital, as China serves as the primary route of escape from North Korea. The protection of North Korean refugees cannot be significantly improved without China’s cooperation.

Hayley Noah is a second-year student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, pursuing an M.A. in Global Policy Studies. Her specialization is Security, Law, and Diplomacy​.

[1] UN General Assembly, Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 28 July 1951, United Nations, available at: https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/3b66c2aa10.
[2] UNHCR, “The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol,” Sept 2011, 4, 
https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/about-us/background/4ec262df9/1951-convention-relating-status-refugees-its-1967-protocol.html.
[3] Ibid, 5.
[4] UN Human Rights Council, Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 7 February 2014, A/HRC/25/63, available at:  
https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/coidprk/pages/reportofthecommissionofinquirydprk.aspx.
[5] UN Human Rights Council, Report of the commission of inquiry.
[6] David Hawk, The Hidden Gulag, 2nd ed. (The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2012), 166.
[7] B.R. Myers, “Foreigners,” in The Cleanest Race, How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters (Brooklyn, NY: Melville House, 2010), 168. 
[8] Hawk, The Hidden Gulag, 152-4.  
[9] Tae-jun Kang, “China Tightens Grip on North Korean Defectors,” The Diplomat, Jan 13, 2020, https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/china-tightens-grips-on-north-korean-defectors/.
[10] UN Human Rights Council, Report of the commission of inquiry.
[11] “China: Redoubling Crackdowns on Fleeing North Koreans,” Human Rights Watch, Sep 3, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/03/china-redoubling-crackdowns-fleeing-north-koreans.
[12] UN Human Rights Council, Report of the commission of inquiry.
[13] Lee Hae Young, Lives for Sale: Personal Accounts of North Korean Women Fleeing North Korea to China, (The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2009), 9.
[14] UN Human Rights Council, Report of the commission of inquiry.
[15] Elizabeth Shim, “North Korean women call for end to forced repatriation in China,” UPI, Nov 1, 2016, 
​https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2016/11/01/North-Korean-women-call-for-end-to-forced-repatriation-in-China/1981478051669/.
[16] Lee, Lives for Sale, 16.
[17] Ibid., 18.
[18] UNHCR, “The 1951 Convention,” 7.