“Issues raised by civil society and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women”… Review of public inquiry on the 23rd
It was confirmed that the government submitted a preliminary written inquiry that addressed the issue of forced repatriation by North Korea and China ahead of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) against the Chinese government on the 23rd.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yeol met with reporters on his first day of work at the annex of the Seoul Government Complex on the 11th and said, “I submitted a written inquiry today, and the contents will be made public soon.”
He added, “When we raise the issue (on-site public inquiry) on the 23rd, we will make an announcement based on our position.”
UPR is a system in which the 193 UN member countries take turns reviewing their own human rights situation and whether recommendations have been implemented. In China, the 4th UPR is scheduled for the 23rd, following 2009, 2013, and 2018.
Each member country can raise human rights issues through prior written inquiries or on-site inquiries, and this is the first time that Korea has submitted a written inquiry to China’s UPR.
A total of three issues were included in the written inquiry, and the issues of ‘North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)’ and China’s forced repatriation to North Korea were specified.
The question is: ▲Can China provide information on asylum procedures accessible to North Korean defectors from foreign countries, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea? ▲Can China provide information on asylum procedures accessible to North Korean defectors from foreign countries, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, who are exposed to human trafficking, forced marriage, and other exploitation? What measures is China taking to protect and support North Korean defector women? ▲What measures is China taking to protect and support children born in China to North Korean defector women from foreign countries, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, who are classified as illegal immigrants under Chinese domestic law? Are you taking it?
South Korea did not mention the issue of North Korean defectors at all during the third China UPR in 2018 during the Moon Jae-in administration, and during the second UPR in 2013 under the Park Geun-hye administration, it only mentioned refugee protection, including compliance with the principle of non-refoulement, in on-site remarks, but did not specifically mention North Korea. .
Lim Soo-seok, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on this day, “The government has submitted a preliminary written inquiry regarding this UPR, and the contents of the human rights issue have been uploaded to the secretariat of the (United Nations) Human Rights Council.” He added, “So far, not only our civil society, but also UN Women “It included several issues raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination (CEDAW), including refugee application procedures accessible to defectors from overseas, including North Korea,” he said.
The government is also considering a plan to hold public inquiries on the 23rd.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with reporters that day and said, “We submitted written inquiries on three issues and are reviewing (on-site inquiries) on the 23rd.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.