UN envoy presses China on NK defectors

The U.N. envoy on human rights in North Korea indirectly called on China to adhere to international norms when handling refugees amid heightened concern over Beijing’s forcible repatriation of North Koreans.

During a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, Monday, U.N. special rapporteur Marzuki Darusman expressed concern over the protection of asylum-seekers and urged states “to adhere to the principle of non-refoulement,” in thinly-veiled comments apparently directed toward Beijing.

The principle regards the protection of refugees from being returned to places where their lives or freedoms could be threatened.

Meanwhile, a Seoul official said the government was looking into a reported altercation at the session involving South Korean lawmakers and a North Korean diplomat during the Monday session over the contentious issue.

The official said the lawmakers did not attend the session in an official capacity and that it was not yet clear whether any official procedures had been violated.

The clash took place Monday after the lawmakers reportedly tried to engage North Korean delegate So Se-pyong on the contentious issue of defectors.

Forced repatriation of North Koreans has been a hot topic amid protests here against China, which has reportedly detained dozens of would-be defectors and may have sent them back under a longstanding deal with Pyongyang. Activists say those sent back are punished harshly.

Reports said the lawmakers shouted slogans at So regarding the reported detainees in an attempt to engage him before the altercation took place in the hall.

Just prior to this, the diplomat had “roundly rejected” a critical report by Darusman as “useless interpretation.” So began walking out as a Japanese representative had taken the floor at which point the scuffle broke out.

Darusman, in his report, said the human rights situation in the North had significantly deteriorated during the September 2011 to January 2012 reporting period, adding that Pyongyang had executed some 20 people last year.

South Korea, apparently breaking from its pattern of “quiet diplomacy” over the repatriation policy, has become increasingly vocal on the matter sparked by grassroots efforts to aid 34 North Koreans caught by Chinese authorities.

The lawmaker’s delegation included Rep. Park Sun-young of the minor conservative Liberty Forward Party who earlier held a hunger strike in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul over the matter. <Korea Times/Kim Young-jin>

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