联合国专家警告：被中国强制遣返的朝鲜人下落不明，面临强迫失踪、酷刑与贩运风险UN experts warn North Koreans forcibly repatriated from China remain unaccounted for, facing disappearance, torture and trafficking risks

据报道，联合国人权专家 10 月 22 日（周三）表示，许多被强制遣返回朝鲜的朝鲜国民至今下落不明，警告他们可能面临强迫失踪、任意拘禁、酷刑及其他人权侵害。专家们说，在下落不明的情况下，“被遣返者被剥夺了免受强迫失踪、任意拘禁、处决、酷刑、强迫劳动、性暴力与性别暴力及其他严重人权侵害的基本保障”。这一关切与此前关于被遣返脱北者随后失踪的调查结果相衔接。[1]

背景与法律框架：中国在 2023 年新冠疫情后边境重开后，恢复了对朝鲜国民的大规模强制遣返。专家警告，关于被遣返者受惩罚的报道，触及不推回原则——该原则载于 1951 年《难民公约》第 33 条第 1 款，禁止缔约国将难民送回其生命或自由面临威胁的领土。专家敦促中国当局尊重不推回原则、确保有程序评估国际保护需求、避免将朝鲜国民遣返至面临人权侵害风险的处境；同时敦促朝鲜披露已遣返者的命运与下落。[1]

研究记录：朝鲜人权数据库中心（NKDB）近期的研究记录了中朝当局在边境执法上的合作——两国公安、内务、安全与军事机关的人员依照自 1950 年代以来一系列双边协议建立的正式体系运作。研究发现，中国当局系统性地不进行难民身份甄别程序，而是将脱北者一概归类为“非法经济移民”，不给予其身份复核的机会；配套研究还详述了中国如何使用生物识别登记与数字监控系统追踪、控制留在中国境内的脱北者，增加了他们被发现的可能性。[1]

规模与个案：人权观察 2023 年报告称，中国当局遣返了 500 多名脱北者，高于其 2021 年 7 月记录的 50 人。过渡正义工作组（TJWG）曾就金哲玉案向任意拘禁问题工作组提交申诉——金哲玉在中国生活 25 年后仍被遣返回朝鲜，TJWG 认为其正当程序权利被剥夺；该组织在致函中还指出，朝鲜妇女与女童在中国被迫成婚、易受贩运，长期生活在被遣返的恐惧之中。[1]

核实说明：本记录基于 Jurist 对联合国专家声明的报道（Genocide Watch 转载）；声明本身是联合国人权特别程序的正式文件，其内容（专家表态、敦促事项）可据报道确认；关于遣返后待遇、NKDB 研究与遣返规模的具体数字，分别归属专家陈述、NKDB 研究与人权观察报告，本站未独立核实被遣返者的实际下落与遭遇，中朝两国官方均未就该声明公开回应。本记录全程保留归属，定性为持续核实。[1]

According to the report, UN human rights experts expressed concern on Wednesday, October 22 that many nationals of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) forcibly returned from China remain unaccounted for, warning that they may face enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture, and other human rights violations. With their whereabouts unknown, the experts said, 'returnees are deprived of essential safeguards against enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, execution, torture, forced labour, sexual and gender-based violence and other serious human rights violations.' The concerns follow previous findings that North Korean escapees repatriated after capture subsequently disappear. [1]

Background and legal frame: China resumed large-scale forcible returns of DPRK nationals in 2023 following the reopening of the border after the COVID-19 pandemic. The experts warned that reports of punishment imposed on returned nationals raise concerns under the principle of non-refoulement, codified in Article 33(1) of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which prohibits states from returning individuals to countries where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations. The experts called on Chinese authorities to respect the principle of non-refoulement and ensure procedures to assess international protection needs, called on China to refrain from returning DPRK nationals to situations where they face a risk of human rights violations, and urged the DPRK to disclose the fate and whereabouts of those already returned. [1]

The research record: recent research from the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) documented cooperation between Chinese and North Korean authorities in border enforcement, finding that officials from public security, internal affairs, state security, and military organs of both countries operate under a formal system established through successive bilateral agreements dating back to the 1950s. The report found that Chinese authorities systematically fail to conduct refugee status determination procedures, instead uniformly classifying North Korean escapees as 'illegal economic migrants' and not affording the opportunity to have that status reviewed. A companion study detailed how China uses biometric registration and digital surveillance systems to track and control escapees remaining in China, increasing the likelihood of detection. [1]

Scale and individual cases: in 2023, Human Rights Watch reported that more than 500 North Korean escapees were repatriated by Chinese authorities, an increase from its July 2021 finding documenting the forced return of 50 North Koreans. The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) has submitted a petition to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the case of Kim Cheol-Ok, who was deported to North Korea despite having lived in China for 25 years, arguing she was deprived of her right to due process; in a letter addressing the situation of North Korean women and girls, TJWG also noted that they were forced into marriages and remained vulnerable to trafficking, often living in fear of being returned. [1]

Verification note: this record rests on Jurist's reporting of the UN experts' statement, republished by Genocide Watch. The statement itself is a formal document of UN human rights special procedures, and its content — the experts' expressed concern and their calls on China and North Korea — is confirmed by the reporting. The specifics of returnees' treatment after repatriation, the NKDB findings and the repatriation figures are attributed respectively to the experts, NKDB research and Human Rights Watch reporting; this site has not independently verified the actual fate of individual returnees, and neither Chinese nor North Korean authorities have publicly responded to the statement. Attribution is preserved throughout and the record is marked as under ongoing verification. [1]