Daily NK - Defectors Suffer in Nationality Blind Spot

In order to protect the human rights of stateless North Koreans outside North Korea, there is a need to recognize them as refugees and ease their citizenship requirements, academics agree.

▲ Jang Bok Hee, Professor of Law at Sun Moon University ⓒ the Daily NK

According to Jang Bok Hee, a Professor of Law at Sun Moon University who was participating in a North Korean Human Rights International Youth Conference held on the 27th, "In the case of stateless defectors, as long as their 'refugee' status can be demonstrated, then there is a need to prepare a system which acknowledges their nationality through an examination separate from the naturalization process.

The South Korean government, according to the “Law on the Protection and Resettlement Support for Breakaway Citizens from North Korea,” denies South Korean nationality to refugees. Stateless defectors are not considered “refugees” under existing law, so in order to obtain South Korean nationality, strict naturalization conditions have to be met.

As a result, defectors who are overseas Chinese or children whose parents are North Korean defectors but were born in China themselves are not properly recognized as refugees and reside domestically as foreigners or find themselves deported to China.

Grand National Party (GNP) member Nam Kyung Pil told a National Assembly questioning of the government last year that there are approximately 10,000~15,000 children born between Chinese fathers and mothers who are North Korean defectors, most of whom are stateless.

Professor Jang proposes that in order to satisfy the legal standards for acquiring nationality for stateless defectors, the following system would be appropriate: "If the Ministry of Justice and related organizations as well as the Korean Nationality Act (KNA) and international law experts organize a ‘Consultative Body for Stateless Refugees,’ then an impartial assessment of nationality can be guaranteed. According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, stateless defectors are recognized as refugees, and under the Consultative Body, they could be treated as such."

In particular, he emphasized, "In the case of stateless refugee children, the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be applied which considers the rights of children as of the utmost priority and a policy proposal as well as an Enforcement Proposal and a review and revision of South Korean domestic law related to implementing the Convention should be prepared."

Representative Doh Hee Yun of the Citizen’s Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees, who also participated in the debate, explained, "'Stateless refugees' includes persons born in North Korea, a defector who gave birth in China and Chinese-born children of North Koreans residing in China. The number of stateless defectors inside China has been gradually increasing, and is estimated to be around 10,000~20,000."

He pointed out, "The threat faced by stateless refugees is rooted in the fact that North Korea, on a fundamental level, has diplomatically abandoned its own people and that the defectors are outside of a legal protective net due the lack of concern from the Chinese government. Further, the response by the South Korean government has been insufficient, so this is not an issue that can be easily improved."

"Most of all, stateless defectors exist on the outskirts of legal protection, so all their fundamental rights have been circumscribed. They are living in the worst blind spot as human beings whose labor and educational rights, as well as right to survive, are not recognized."

Kim Young Il, a former refugee and representative of PSCORE, testified, "During my four years in China, I could not help but hide my identity as a refugee in order to escape the tough regulations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Most defectors have no choice but to hide their identities in such ways, so there are many instances in which it is difficult for the refugees to prove their nationality. The children of North Korean women who have been trafficked into China or women who have been forcibly repatriated to the North do not have a shred of protection."

Doh urged, "The South Korean government should come forward to try to protect them. It must ensure that the stateless defectors residing in China are able to acquire South Korean nationality as breakaway citizens of North Korea."

Further, he maintained, "Korea’s human rights commission should also actively step up to resolve the stateless defector issue. A sub-committee for resolving this issue should be created through on-site investigation and cooperation with the Chinese government to assist these people in acquiring a nationality. Also, a more active effort is needed to protect their human rights."