North Korea Freedom Protest
Letter to Chinese embassy challenging China about its programme of forced repatriation of North Korean refugees
H. E. Mme. Fu Ying,
Ambassador,
Chinese Embassy to the United Kingdom,
49-51 Portland Place,
London,
W1N 1JL
Your Excellency,
RE: China's repatriation of North Korean refugees
I appeal to China’s government to stop its policy of forced and violent repatriations; sending desperate North Korean refugees back to North Korea where they face torture, imprisonment and sometimes even death.
I am writing this letter to remind China of its obligations to North Korean refugees under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol of which it is a signatory.
We respectfully ask China’s government to implement a legal process through which North Koreans can obtain refugee or asylum status in China. While this procedure is formulated we ask you work with the international community and allow these refugees safe passage to a third country as an interim measure. Several countries have granted permission for these refugees to resettle with them, for example South Korea and the United States.
With famine-like conditions and human rights’ atrocities plaguing North Korea, more refugees will seek to escape by fleeing to China, which North Koreans know is far superior to their homeland.
We know that China is waiting to welcome the world at the Olympics later this year. Please show the world China's goodwill and leadership by adhering to your obligations to North Korean refugees.
Yours respectfully and sincerely,
[Name]
[Country]
Please post your handwritten letter so that it arrives at the Chinese embassy on Saturday 26 April to coincide with the protest.
If possible, please email advocacy@opendoorsuk.org to let us know you have joined us in this way.