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An international group of lawmakers Wednesday adopted a statement calling for North Korean defectors to be granted refugee status in accordance with international law and urged that the issue of human rights of North Korean refugees be put on the agenda of the second inter-Korean summit.
At the fourth general assembly of the International Parliamentarians' Coalition for North Korean Refugees' Human Rights (IPCNKR) in Seoul, the group said that an increasing number of women and children North Korean refugees are being forced into crime, including human trafficking, forced prostitution, and illegal work. "The international community must make efforts to assure their human rights by giving them refugee status according to international law," it said.
The group also said that humanitarian issues involving North Korean refugees, South Korean POWs, and the victims of North Korean abductions must be addressed at the second inter-Korean summit.
The IPCNKR called on the international community to join hands to establish an international settlement for the North Korean refugees, have China stop repatriating North Korean defectors, and have North Korea close its political prisoners camps.
Established in 2003, IPCNKR counts 111 parliamentarians from 36 countries as active members. Around 100 people attended the general assembly, including 24 parliamentarians from 13 countries such as U.S. congressmen Edward Royce and Diane Watson, Japanese lawmaker Masaharu Nakagawa and Mongolian lawmaker Lamjav Gundalai. The meeting also included representatives from related NGOs.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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