By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

PYONGYANG, North Korea– Nine North Korean youths, ages 14 to 23, were returned to Pyongyang earlier this week after being arrested in Laos and deported through Beijing, China.  Both the Chinese and Lao governments have come under criticism from the UNHCR, the United Nations organ responsible for refugee matters.

The nine individuals fled North Korea in early May and entered Laos through China on May 9.  On May 16, Lao authorities captured the group and arranged their deportation to Beijing.  On Tuesday May 28 the group was flown back to Pyongyang under the supervision of several North Korean officials.

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville stated that the group will likely face severe punishment upon their return.  North Korean law imposes a mandatory sentence of five years hard labor for defectors and the possibility of life imprisonment.  According to Human Rights Watch, North Korea has a history of mistreating persons that have left the country without authorization.  Such mistreatment has reportedly included forced labor, indeterminate detention, torture, malnourishment, and unsanitary living conditions.  Particularly harsh punishments are utilized against those suspected of attempting to contact or enter South Korea.

The U.N. admonished the DPRK Friday for failing to observe its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights article 7, which states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The potential for severe punishment and/or mistreatment at the hands of the DPRK also places the nine individuals within the protective sphere of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, and the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment.  The 1951 Convention defines “refugee” as a person who “owing to 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…”  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Handbook establishes that persecution that arises as a result of, or after, fleeing one’s country is also within the scope of the Convention’s protection.

The UNHCR has stated that both China and Laos’ actions are violations of  the aforementioned conventions, and also the customary international law principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return (refouler) or extradition of any person to a State where there are substantial grounds to believe that she would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

The exact condition and status of these nine individuals is unknown at this time, and North Korea has thus far failed to answer U.N. requests to investigate and/or receive independent reports on the status of the group.  The UNHCR continues to investigate and has expressed concern that in both China and Laos the group was denied an opportunity to lodge claims for asylum.

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch — North Korea: Denial of Rights Forces Back Refugees — 30 May 2013

BBC — UN ‘dismayed’ Over North Korea Refugees — 31 May 2013

Reuters — U.N. Fears Nine North Korean Defectors Sent Home by China — 31 May 2013

Bangkok Post — UN Protests Return of North Koreans — 1 June 2013