UN to Increase Support for Defectors

UN to Increase Support for Defectors. May. 08, 2006 07:08. by Soon-Taek Kwon Jong-Koo Yoon maypole@donga.com jkmas@donga.com.

On May 5, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that it will step up efforts to protect and support North Korean defectors in China and Mongolia this year.

At a press conference held at the Washington National Press Club on that day, the UNHCR announced its 2006 work plan.

In particular, the UNHCR urged the Chinese government to prepare a proper law covering the refugee issue and strengthen its legal protection and aid for North Korean defectors applying for asylum.

High Commissioner Antonio Guterres (photo) said that although most of the defectors in China are illegal aliens who crossed the border not for political reasons, but for hunger and a better life, they shouldn’t be repatriated to North Korea.

Guterres further stated that the Korean government has agreed to accept all of defectors who initially wanted to head for U.S. but were denied access in the status determination process by the U.S. government. In an interview after the conference, Guterres said, “The Korean government and the UNHCR agreed to make sure no defectors in Southeast Asia are abandoned without protection.”

In addition, U.S. assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration Ellen Sauerbrey noted that the U.S. has contacted the Chinese government in order to prevent defectors in China from being forcibly repatriated to North Korea.

Sauerbrey added that the U.S. is significantly concerned about women being trafficked to China and that North Korean women married to Chinese should be granted Chinese citizenship.

Meanwhile, regarding the UNHCR statement of the Korean government’s decision to accommodate defectors who failed to get asylum status, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) said yesterday that the government didn’t agree with the UNHCR on that matter.

In its reporting material, the MOFAT said, “The Korean government has been accepting all of defectors from the perspective of humanitarianism and brotherhood.”

A MOFAT official remarked, “If a defector wants to come to Korea, he or she will be handled in accordance with the due process, no matter whether he or she has been disqualified from the U.S. asylum determination process,” and explained that the fact that a defector originally wanted to settle in the U.S. but was rejected doesn’t affect the decision process by Korean government.

The official said that the precondition to accept defectors is their mindset and intentions, and that mentioning that Korea embraces all defectors denied access to the U.S. can be misunderstood as saying that Korea will accept all of them regardless of their intentions.