UN envoy urges China stop repatriating N Korea refugees

The UN's human rights envoy to North Korea yesterday urged China to stop repatriating escaped defectors to the North, where they face harsh punishment, torture or execution.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN's Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, said he was "alarmed by a surge in detentions and forced repatriations of North Koreans" who are caught in China after making it across the border.

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Over the past few months he had shared these concerns with the Chinese authorities, recalling their obligations under the 1951 Refugees convention as well as relevant parts of the UN system, he said.