OUR WORK

Advocacy Advocacy

Human Rights Inside the DPRK

The DPRK is home to a tremendous human rights crisis, well-documented and corroborated by testimonies of thousands of defectors, as well as international observers, satellite pictures and aid agencies. The North Korean refugee crisis exists as a direct result of the North Korean system and conditions within thecountry. Food aid to the DPRK is not distributed to citizens most in need; political affiliations and family pedigree most often determine who receives rations.

North Korea’s criminal and penal codes are fundamentally oppressive, with severe penalties for minor offenses against the state, including crimes of thought. Citizens are not permitted rights to assembly, freedoms of speech or religion, and are not afforded the right to movement, even within the DPRK, without government permission. Citizens leaving the DPRK without government consent are deemed as criminals and arrested if caught on charges of treason, punishable by death. Many of those arrested are sent into North Korea’s extensive forced labor and concentration camps, depending on the violation, where they face severe interrogation tactics. Widespread accounts of rape, torture, infanticide, public executions and other fundamental human rights violations have been recorded.

As the DPRK continues to insist that there are no human rights violations in these “re-education camps ”, international inspections must be permitted, if there is nothing to hide. These camps must be closed down immediately.

What is LiNK doing:

  1. Engaging the DPRK government directly, bringing up human rights concerns and seeking access by impartial investigators to sites of concern.
  2. Investigating human rights conditions within the DPRK, and spreading awareness internationally, to governments, agencies, think tanks, policymakers and media, as well as the grassroots.
  3. Advocating for the issue of human rights in the DPRK to be on the table in any negotiations by the United States, Republic of Korea, European Union or any other nation in bilateral discussions.
  4. Working for increased contact between the North Korean people and the international community, as well as supporting exchange initiatives and increased foreign investment, exchange and presence in the country.
  5. Advocating for stronger United Nations action, both by the UN itself and subordinate agencies, including UNICEF and the WFP, in protecting human rights in the DPRK.
  6. Seeking ILO investigation of DPRK’s system of forced labor camps.

Human Rights for North Koreans Outside the DPRK

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to repatriate large numbers of refugees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea), where many of them face persecution, harsh interrogation, or even public execution. Many North Koreans leave for economic reasons, but North Korean law criminalizes defection as treasonous and punishable by death- a fact that ultimately classifies North Koreans outside of the DPRK as legitimate refugees, and candidates for non-refoulement. LiNK estimates the number of DPRK citizens in China to be around 400,000, with nearly 140,000 having already been repatriated to the DPRK since 1983. To this end amnesty must be given to North Korean refugees in China; legalization of their presence in the PRC, and permission to obtain jobs, attend school and receive medical care.

If the PRC will not consent to these measures, they must permit the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to North Korean refugees, and transit for refugees to nations that are willing to provide them refugee status and asylum, including and particularly the Republic of Korea. These refugees must not under any circumstances be repatriated to the DPRK, and China must work to provide exit visas for accepted refugees without delay.

What LiNK is doing:

  1. Advocating for the PRC to reclassify NK refugees as legitimate refugees worthy of protection, or for the UNHCR to be granted unimpeded access to this population of concern to make its own determinations.
  2. Providing NK refugees in hiding with LiNK’s own protection until they will be recognized and protected by the PRC or the UNHCR.
  3. Advocating for governments worldwide to agree to accept North Koreans as refugees.
  4. Moving NK refugees in hiding through LiNK’s underground railroad operations to free nations.
  5. Disseminating information about the refugee crisis internationally, to governments, agencies, think tanks, policymakers and media, as well as the grassroots.