1951 UN Refugee Study

• Freedom to leave their own country

The restrictions of the freedom of movement in the DPRK extend to the enjoyment of citizens´ freedom to leave their own country, i.e. the freedom to travel abroad and the freedom to emigrate. The Immigration Law allows travels abroad only to those who have passports or travel permits for border areas. Permission to undertake a journey abroad is, however, granted very selectively and only to those whose ideological integrity has been proven beyond any doubt. Applicants wanting to visit their relatives in China or wanting to engage in short-term work opportunities and small-scale trade with China may sometimes be granted permission to leave the country. Though this procedure to acquire a passport is costly

The Chinese Government, in fact, considers North Korean escapees as irregular migrants and not as refugees, and negates that they are at risk to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment when repatriated. This return policy was strongly criticized by the UN SR on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK jointly with other independent experts, who already in 2005 highlighted that, when returned back to the DPRK, North Korean citizens face “cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions, ill-treatment and torture as well as, in extreme cases, summary execution”. The repatriation of North Koreans to the DPRK clearly contravenes the principle of non-refoulement, established by Article 33(1) of the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of

The totalitarian regime of the DPRK seems to have also perceived this impatience and the international criticism. There seems to be recognition on the side of the regime that, as a matter of survival, reforms, even small ones, should be achieved. It has therefore accepted 113 recommendations issued from the second UPR, such as, for the first time, allowing foreign donors free and unimpeded access to all populations in need. Moreover, the authorities made several diplomatic gestures over the last months, showing some apparent goodwill to improve contacts with the world. Parallel to various diplomatic efforts, the State controlled DPRK Association for Human Rights Studies published a report of more than 90 pages in September 2014 via the official Korean Central News Agency, rebutting COI’s report. This constituted a very surprising step that had no precedent, although the report states mostly legal texts and does not offer an objective overview of the human rights situation in the country. These various actions over the last months however give the impression that the regime is concerned about the growing international outcry, especially since the publication of the COI’s report. The COI has concluded that the human rights violations committed