China's Repatriation of North Korean Refugees

Dozens of North Koreans are today at imminent risk of persecution, torture—even execution—owing to China's decision to forcibly repatriate them in stark violation of both the spirit and the letter of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol to which China has acceded. The international community—especially the United Nations, the Obama administration, and the U.S. Congress—must insist that China, at long last, honor its treaty obligations, end its egregious practice of systematic refoulement, or be exposed as hypocrites. Article 33 of the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees couldn't be more clear: Prohibition of Expulsion or Return ("Refoulement"): No Contracting State shall expel or return ("refouler") a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Today's hearing underscores an emergency that begs an immediate remedy. Lives are at risk. The North Korean refugees—disproportionately women—face death or severe sexual abuse and torture unless they get immediate protection. China has a duty to protect.