Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, speaks outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

            Outside the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC today, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, together with a group of Korean human rights defenders called on the Chinese government not to proceed with the forced repatriation of an estimated 2,000 North Korean refugees who face severe human rights violations back at home.

            “Beijing must recognize that these refugees are not mere statistics—they are individuals with inherent rights, hopes, dreams, and aspirations,” said Smith, who has chaired more than 85 congressional hearings and markups on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) human rights violations in addition to numerous hearings on North Korean human rights abuses.

            The urgent gathering of human rights defenders from the United States and Korea comes as the CCP appears poised to forcibly return thousands of North Korean refugees who are reportedly being held in Chinese detention centers as North Korea relaxes its COVID-19 imposed border closure policy.

            “The Chinese government remains adamant, alleging that the principle of non-refoulment does not apply to North Korean defectors as they are considered ‘illegal immigrants’—a conclusory assertion that does not comport with China’s obligations under international law,” said Smith.

“If these North Korean escapees are forcibly repatriated, the Chinese government would be violating its obligations under the Refugee Convention by categorizing all of them as ‘economic migrants’ or ‘illegal immigrants’ without undergoing proper inquiry,” said Smith, referring to Article 33 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which China acceded to on September 24, 1982.

            In June, Smith chaired a congressional hearing examining the plight of the North Korean refugees and calling on United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres to use his influence to dissuade the Chinese government from forcibly repatriating them.

            Smith, who had raised the issue directly with Secretary-General Guterres in an April meeting, said the UN is “well-positioned to use its influence, given how much the Chinese government seeks validation from, and indeed seeks to influence, the United Nations system.”

            “China must live up to its obligations under international law,” said Smith.

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