North Korea Webinar: April 27th 2021.
The Trafficking of North Korean Women To China. Remarks by David Alton – Lord Alton of Liverpool, Co-Chair of the All Party parliamentary Group on north Korea.
During Witness sessions which I have chaired at Westminster on behalf of the APPG on North Korea I have been particularly struck by the dignity and courage of the North Korean women who have given us evidence.
In the face of terrible suffering, appalling experiences, and a deep sense of loss, many have retained their poise and their certainty that the future will sweep away the tyranny which has led to so much hardship.
Although North Korea’s regime tries to conceal information and hold its entire people hostage, and data has to be collected through unorthodox routes, never-the-less, escapees now form a significant diaspora and they have increasingly found their voice in prizing open the secret State.
I have been in North Korea on four occasions and have also travelled through China to Jilin Province border with North Korea and have seen the places where escapes have risked their lives – and some have lost their lives – to seek work. Over the decades many women made these perilous journeys in the hope of earning money which could be sent to feed and sustain their families.
As always, brokers spot an opportunity to capitalise on human misery and with promises of riches and a better life turned their attention to human trafficking.
The US State Department’s 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report stated that:
‘Traffickers operate networks spanning from China into North Korea to recruit North Korean women and girls to smuggle into China. These women are subjected to physical abuse and sexual exploitation by their traffickers, forced into commercial sex in brothels or through internet sex sites, or compelled to work as hostesses in nightclubs or karaoke bars.
Traffickers sell North Korean women to Chinese men for forced marriages, whereby they are subsequently forced into commercial sex, domestic service, agricultural, or other types of work.
These victims often lack identification documents and bear children with Chinese men, which further hinders their ability to escape.
As many as 30,000 children born in China to North Korean women and Chinese men have not been registered upon birth, rendering them stateless and vulnerable to possible exploitation.
If found by Chinese authorities, victims are often forcibly returned to the DPRK, where they are subject to harsh punishment, including forced labor in labor camps, torture, forced abortions, or death.’
Apart from the offence of human trafficking from North Korea to China, other violations of human rights occur – including, enslavement, forced labour, rape, sexual violence, but also forcible return of individuals who should qualify for the protections as refugees.
It is entirely contrary to the Convention on the Treatment of Refugees to refoul anyone who is at serious risk of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. The Chinese Communist Party returns men, women and children to North Korea, knowing that is the fate which awaits them. In doing so it is acting contrary to international law.
Furthermore, as some reports suggest, North Korean women who are pregnant with Chinese men, on their return to North Korea are forcibly aborted – ending the life of the child in its mother’s womb..
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 2020 report “I Still Feel the Pain…”, revealed that
‘A woman detained in a Ministry of People’s Security jipkyulso in 2015 reported the following:
“I suffered no violence but the other woman had become pregnant in China so the guards knew that her baby had Chinese blood. This was an issue as the local laws prevented any North Korean woman from giving birth to a mixed race baby. The doctor in the MPS centre told her to get an abortion despite the fact that she wanted to keep the baby. She was eventually forced to have an abortion and sent to a kyohwaso…”’
Jubilee Campaign reported that:
‘Pregnant North Korean women who are forcibly repatriated face horrific abuse.”
Similar findings were identified in the 2014 Report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It stated that:
“Repatriated women who are pregnant are regularly forced to undergo an abortion, a practice that is driven by racist attitudes towards persons from China, and to inflict punishment on women who have committed a serious offence by leaving the country.”
Although the Commission of Inquiry found that crimes against humanity have been committed there has been no improvement of the situation or a blueprint to address the atrocities. It was an issue I raised earlier today with Dominic Raab, the UK Foreign Secretary.
Be clear, children of North Korean women and Chinese men, apart from not qualifying for protection in China, also do not qualify for protection in North Korea. Indeed, Jubilee Campaign reported to the UN that ‘Because the children are born to women who have fled as refugees and are often the children of Chinese men, they are additionally not recognized by the North Korean government.’
So they are dealt a double blow
Over recent years we have seen more and more evidence of atrocities perpetrated against North Korean women, including their trafficking to China, forced repatriation, and subsequent abuse. Like fire flies we need to shine a light on this situation – which is why I commend the Coalition for Genocide Response for organising this Webinar today.
