MSF PUSHES FOR RIGHTS OF FLEEING NORTH KOREANS
Testimony Delivered to Japanese Parliament Spotlights Plight
of Asylum Seekers; Criminalization of Humanitarian Aid

Text of MSF Statement to Japanese Parliament: Tokyo, Japan -
January 24th, 2003

Honored Chairman, Respected Members of the Democratic Party,

Thank you very much for giving Doctors Without Borders/M?
ecins Sans Fronti?es (MSF) the opportunity to testify before
you and share with you our experience and understanding of
the plight of North Koreans seeking assistance and asylum in
China.

MSF is a non-governmental organization providing medical
assistance to people in need, to victims of natural and man-
made disasters, wars and civil wars, irrespective of race,
religion, ideology, or politics.

MSF derives its current understanding of the humanitarian
situation of North Koreans fleeing their homeland from direct
contacts with refugees in China and with defectors in third
countries. For the past three years, MSF aid workers have
given food and medical assistance to hundreds of them and
witnessed their plight.

Today, we would like to address three fundamental concerns
regarding the disastrous humanitarian situation of North
Korean asylum seekers:

1. The lack of protection for North Koreans fleeing their
country
2. The criminalization of humanitarian aid to North Koreans
in China, leading to a shrinking space for assistance.
3. The lack of political willingness from the countries
involved to acknowledge and guarantee the basic rights of
North Korean asylum seekers.

1. Lack of protection for North Korean refugees

North Koreans crossing the Sino-Korean border in search of
assistance face tremendous challenges. Most of them do not
even contemplate reaching a third country. They cross into
China in search of food for their families or a temporary job
that will allow them to buy medicines or other essential
goods needed at home. Considered illegal migrants by the
Chinese authorities, they live in hiding and fear like
animals, and face the risk of being arrested at any time,
forcibly repatriated, and subjected to severe repercussions
in North Korea. They are denied their fundamental rights to
flee, not to be forcibly returned, to receive basic
assistance and to have their asylum request examined.

Within the past three years, China has arrested and forcibly
repatriated thousands of North Koreans in flight from their
own country in search of asylum and assistance. Only the few
who received media attention could benefit from China's
leniency.

2. Criminalization of humanitarian aid to North Koreans and
shrinking space for assistance.

Humanitarian aid workers who attempt to rescue North Korean
refugees also face the brutal determination of the Chinese
authorities, who deem the assistance of North Korean refugees
a criminal offense. Border rules posted along the Tumen River
in Chinese and Korean stipulate that, "It is forbidden to
financially help, allow to stay, harbor, or aid in the
settlement of people from the neighboring country who have
crossed the border illegally."

Fines and rewards discouraging Chinese citizens from
assisting North Korean refugees and recent arrests of NGO
workers illustrate how impossible it is to adequately provide
effective humanitarian assistance. Yanbian residents who are
suspected of being humanitarian aid workers are now forced to
take a written oath to the effect that they will not provide
assistance to North Korean refugees. Bounties for the
identification of either humanitarian aid workers or North
Koreans remain commonplace.

Predictably, in such context, support for North Korean
refugees in distress is drastically diminishing and assisting
them has become a challenge that increasingly few aid
organizations, crushed by this sanction policy, are able to
undertake.

3. Lack of political willingness to acknowledge and guarantee
the basic rights of North Korean asylum seekers.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
mandate is to promote the right of refugees and to monitor
the implementation of the refugee convention by its state
parties, including China. Having been present in China for
years, UNHCR has failed to engage in a constructive dialogue
with the Chinese government on the status of North Korean
asylum seekers. Numerous discussions between MSF and the
UNHCR about the need for protection have not proven fruitful.

The countries involved in the region, including China, Japan,
South Korea, the US and the European Union (EU) all share a
responsibility in this crisis. MSF approached repeatedly the
Chinese authorities to cease forced repatriations and allow
humanitarian assistance for the North Korean refugees. These
calls have gone unanswered. Field information on the
conditions of refugees has also been brought to the attention
of EU representatives, European states and the US government.

As international attention is now turned to Pyongyang's
dictatorship for a separate crisis, the fate of North Korean
refugees remains resolutely ignored. Neither China's repeated
violation of international conventions nor desperate attempts
by hundreds of North Koreans to seek asylum with foreign
representations have resulted in measurable progress on the
question of the protection of North Korean refugees in search
of asylum.

What is the responsibility for the countries concerned?

The recent failed asylum bid of the group of 48 North Koreans
is most revealing: it unveils the distress of the North
Korean refugee population in China and the urgent necessity
to provide them assistance. It graphically illustrates a
human tragedy that will not be solved through repression. The
systematic and organized dragnet on refugees and aid workers,
which has intensified in China, leaves North Korean refugees
no other alternative than a desperate flight to a third
country, at the risk of their very lives.

M?ecins Sans Fronti?es expresses its grave concern over the
endless suffering of the North Koreans seeking refuge in
China. The refugee crisis will only be solved if there is a
clear political will from the countries and institutions
involved to protect North Koreans in search of asylum and
guarantee their basic rights. In absence of protection,
humanitarian assistance is impossible. Countries involved in
the region should therefore negotiate practical solutions
with China, which would include a secured space for relief
and protection.

The Japanese society is showing its concern over the North
Korean asylum seekers. As a major power in the region, Japan
has a duty to exercise its influence for the benefit of North
Korean refugees. MSF hopes that the Japanese government will
play a leading role in stimulating an international debate on
the issue of North Korean refugees and in promoting their
protection. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you for your attention.