Professor Stephan Haggard co-edits new report on the North Korean Refugee Crisis
The North Korean Refugee Crisis: Human Rights and International Response
12/13/2006
Eeva Moore,
On December 7, IR/PS Professor Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland from the Institute of International Economics presented a comprehensive report on the North Korean refugee crisis to members of the House of Representatives. Haggard and Noland co-edited the report for the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, a Washington based human rights organization.
The report is based on interviews of 1,346 North Korean refugees residing in 9 different locations in China. Through the interviews, researchers identify why and how the refugees left North Korea, their living conditions in China, and their plans for the future.
According to the study, 64 percent of the refugees want to settle in South Korea. Approximately 20 percent want to come to the U.S. The study shows that despite international human rights commitments, and despite the growing amount of North Korean refugees, both the U.S. and China have fallen short of fulfilling their commitments to the refugees.
Due to the number of Korea-American families that have reported difficulties in dealing with the State Department with respect to U.S. obligations outlined in the North Korean Human Rights Act, Haggard argues that the State Department needs to task a specific office with implementing responsibilities toward North Korean refugees, and publicize the relevant contact information. “The new Senior North Korea Policy Coordinator will be centrally positioned to address shortcomings in U.S. policy toward the refugees,” says Haggard.
The report further argues that China should establish temporary resettlement camps with assistance from South Korea and the U.S., and that South Korea should accept more refugees, of whom it currently has accepted only 8,000.
In a statement issued by his office, Congressman Joe Pitts (R, PA-16), who has served on the Advisory Council of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, hailed the report as a “wake-up call to the international community, and a must-read for anyone with an interest in doing something to improve the grim situation facing the entire North Korean population, particularly North Korean refugees”.
Related Links
To read the report, please visit the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea website.
Click here to learn more about Professor Haggard.
