One Minute Speech – March 10, 2004

North Korean Refugees in China

Mr. Speaker, on the issue of human rights, today there are between 200- and 300,000 North Korean refugees in China. Half are women, and while the men can find jobs as cheap laborers, most of the women are sold into forced labor or the sex trade.

Despite promises, China so far has refused to grant the North Koreans official refugee status, claiming it would invite a flood of new refugees. That is a faulty argument, and China did not make it when Vietnamese refugees sought refuge in their borders.

Refugee protection does not cause refugee crises. Horrifying human rights abuses, mass starvation, prison camps, brutal torture, forced abortion, and a ruler who believes that he is God causes refugee crises.

It is time for China and the UNHCR to live up to their obligations, and it is time for Kim Jong Il to stop brutalizing his people and to step aside.