Save North Korean Refugees Day 2018

Where in the world will you be this MONDAY?

Save North Korean Refugees Day is Monday, September 24th

Rescue those being led away to death

There is still time to join the North Korea Freedom Coalition’s Save North Korean Refugees Day being held worldwide this Monday, September 24, 2018 to focus attention on the ongoing critical crisis facing North Korean Refugees in China.  Monday marks the 36th anniversary of when China became a signatory to the refugee convention, the agreement it is violating when it forces men, women and children back to North Korea against their will to face certain torture, certain imprisonment and even execution.

Action You Can Take

The NKFC is simply asking its partners and friends around the world to deliver a letter on Monday September 24th to the Chinese embassy or consulate in their city appealing to Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop repatriating refugees.  A template letter is available for use OR coordinators can prepare their own letter of appeal from their respective NGO.

In addition to letters being delivered for Xi, some cities are also planning special events from conferences (Pretoria) to protests (Los Angeles and Seoul and Toyko) from candlelight vigils (Washington DC) to movie screenings (Traverse City)– all focused to raise awareness of the situation facing innocent men, women and children who are fleeing persecution and deprivation in North Korea.

Please do not be silent for those being led away to death.  If you can deliver a letter or simply join current efforts underway, please email me at Suzanne@defenseforumfoundation.org.

Background

The China/North Korea border is one of the most dangerous borders in the world.  Yet, little information is being reported about this tragic situation.  Since Kim Jong Un came to power he and Xi Jinping have worked aggressively to close the border to stop North Koreans from escaping to South Korea and other countries.  Over eighty percent of North Koreans, who flee persecution and deprivation in their homeland, carry poison in order to kill themselves if they are caught by Chinese authorities.  They would rather die than be forced back to North Korea where they will be subjected to certain torture, certain imprisonment and even execution for fleeing North Korea. Over eighty percent of North Korea females are subjected to human trafficking because of China’s policy.

What the Chinese authorities are doing is inhumane, barbaric and illegal.  It is a violation of international law as China is a signatory to the refugee convention which obligates it not to repatriate these refugees.  The People’s Republic of China signed the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol on September 24, 1982.

If China simply honored its international treaty obligations, the situation could be resolved overnight as North Korea refugees are unique: they are the only refugees in the world eligible for immediate resettlement as they already have citizenship in South Korea under Articles 2 and 3 of the Republic of Korea Constitution. In addition to South Korea and many other countries have willingly resettled North Korean refugees.

China’s policy of forcible repatriation is a death sentence for North Koreans.

We Express Our Deep Thanks to Those Helping in These Countries and Cities Listed Below

Around the World

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Finland
  • Japan
  • Malawi
  • Mexico
  • The Netherlands
  • Peru
  • South Africa
  • South Korea
  • United Kingdom

And in the United States:

  • Michigan
  • Los Angeles
  • Chicago
  • New York
  • Washington DC