Yesterday, March 5, 2026, the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) hosted a seminar in Seoul to present the findings of its latest investigative report, “The Machinery Behind the Forced Repatriation of North Koreans in China.” The report examines the system of forced repatriation of North Korean escapees carried out by North Korean and Chinese authorities, and proposes concrete pathways for accountability, including potential sanctions against responsible actors.

UpRights provided comprehensive legal analyses examining China’s forced repatriation practices from three perspectives: international criminal law, international refugee law, and international human rights law.

Our team assessed whether China’s forced repatriation practices may constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the ICC Rome Statute. Crucially, the analysis also examined whether the involvement of Chinese officials and agencies – from arrest and detention in China through to the handover and subsequent treatment of escapees in the DPRK – may amount to complicity in the DPRK’s own crimes against humanity under international criminal law. This analysis drew from a detailed study of bilateral treaties between the respective states, the organisational structures of multiple state agencies involved, patterns of interagency coordination and cooperation, and documented post-repatriation human rights violations.

UpRights also assessed China’s binding obligations as a State Party to the Torture Convention and Refugee Convention, identifying China’s failure to provide asylum where warranted, its failure to undertake refugee status determination, and violations of the principle of non-refoulement – all despite its obligations under the Refugee Convention and international human rights law.

Recognising that effective domestic remedies within China are essentially unavailable, UpRights evaluated the viability of different pathways, identifying three key potential accountability avenues:

1. Third-state proceedings under universal or extraterritorial jurisdiction
2. Targeted human rights sanctions, including Magnitsky-style sanctions and the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime
3. UN mechanisms

At the Seoul seminar, NKDB’s human rights analysts shared the legal findings with senior international figures, including Special Rapporteur Elizabeth Salmon, acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Julie Turner, and former ROK Ambassador Shinhwa Lee. 

UpRights is committed to contributing rigorous legal analysis in support of accountability for serious human rights violations and crimes under international law. We thank NKDB for their leadership in amplifying victims’ voices and pursuing accountability until forced repatriations are fully halted.

The full report is available in English and Korean on the NKDB website: https://en.nkdb.org/researchreport/?q=YToxOntzOjEyOiJrZXl3b3JkX3R5cGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjt9&bmode=view&idx=170265783&t=board