People cross from one country to another for a number of reasons. There are two main circumstances that define the movement of people from one country to another. People will move across the different borders either voluntarily or involuntarily. When dealing with this topic – refuge movement, most of the movement here is involuntary. Involuntary movement is mainly caused by circumstances that are life threatening.
In the event people in a country experiences living conditions that are life threatening, they will opt to move from their home countries to other countries where the living conditions are better. This background information is very important with regards to understanding the current situation facing China and North Korea.
The main aim of this paper is to present the current issues facing the movement of people from North Korea to China in a bid to get the United States to pressurize China on the issue of deportation of North Korean refugees from China. China should not be involved in the deportation of North Koreans back to their home country. Instead, the Chinese government should focus on ways to contain the refugees while working things out with North Korea.
The negative effects of the movement of people from North Korea into China will form an important part of the arguments which will seek to have China contain the North Korean refugees. It is important for China to understand that sending back the refugees to North Korea does not hold the key with regards to solving the problems that have been presented by the current regime in North Korea.
It is important to understand or at least have some background information with regards to the movement of refugees from North Korea into China. This has been on going for a number of years and involves hundreds of thousands of North Koreans.
This is not just any other movement, and the figures involved are enough to drop any jaw. The movement has not been happening over the course of the past five years – but since 2000. There are two main reasons that have been cited for this movement by the UNCHR. First off, people are moving from North Korea into China due to food shortages in the country.
Secondly, China is receiving refugees from North Korea due to gross violation of human rights. A closer look at the nature of these problems proves that North Korea is well able to handle its own problems. The United States should pressure China to deport the refugees from North Korea as this will push the North Korean government to respond to the humanitarian crisis in its own country.
It is important to understand that the food shortage in North Korea is more than what meets the eye. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the country began experiencing food shortages due to the economic benefits cut-offs. This condition continued to worsen and in 1995, it got to its worst.
During the summer of 1995, the country experienced a severe famine that was responsible for between 600,000 and 2 million deaths. This is about 5 to 10 percent of the country’s entire population. A closer look at the food shortages reveal that there are some people who are dedicated to ensuring that the food shortage crisis does not go away.
The regime in the country is linked to the food shortage and famine in the country. The regime ensures that food distribution takes place in an unfair manner.Here, people close to the government are the only beneficiaries of the food distribution program in the country.
Although the country had a national ideology where it had declared itself as self-reliant, it was forced to call for international help after the famine situation got out of hand. The United Nations responded rapidly and moved to North Korea where it established it operations. These operations grew so fast that at one point in time, the country was ranked as the World Food Program’s largest operations on a single country.
There are a number of country’s that have been exceptional with regards to the famine issue in North Korea. The United States of America was the largest donor to North Korea through the World Food Program. The US was dedicated to ensuring that the situation is the country is made better until 2005.South Korea and China have and continue to be important donors to North Korea with regards to the current food situation in the country.
There are practices that have been initiated by the government that have worsened the food situation. In a bid to try and control the famine situation in North Korea, the government opted for the massive conversion of land for agricultural use. Coupled with the use of chemical fertilizers, the massive conversion of land led to deforestation and soil erosion.
These have been responsible for lack of food for 24 million people – nearly half of the country’s population, and chronic malnourishment of a third of the entire population. The government of North Korea is continuously making mistakes and these continue to endanger the lives of the people. The solution to the problem facing North Korea can be solved through deporting the refugees back to their country. The United States should move to ensure that China does not deport back the refugees.
The other major problem facing the country is human rights violation. The people in North Korea continue to suffer as a result of human rights violation by the regime.
Reports by both private and public organizations have moved to prove that there are extreme human right violations by the government in North Korea. What makes it worse is the fact that this has been on going for a number of years. On such organization is the State’s Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
This organization has been conducting research and assessment of the human rights violation in the country and the reports delivered all prove that there is excessive human rights violation. The regime in the country moved to ensure that there is total denial of any form of religious, civil, or political liberty. There is a list of the various proscribed offences that come attached to severe and extensive punishments.
These have been established by the constitution in conjunction with the North Korean laws. The media in the country is regulated and controlled by the regime. This includes all the media organs – both ancient and modern. Most of the people in the country lack access to the various media sources except from the official media in the country.
In the country, there is extensive physical abuse by the government especially for political prisoners. The regime had constructed concentration camps through – similar to the ones that were found in the Soviet “gulag” system. Prisoners barely make it alive out of these prisons.
The descriptions of the living conditions but the survivors in the concentration camps is disheartening. Sending the refugees back to their country is as good as subjecting them to these conditions.
China should be pressurized to accept the refugees and stop sending them back to North Korea. In a nutshell, the problem that is presented by the refugees from North Korea in China is best resolved through ensuring that the refugees have a safe place to stay while the China and other nations find ways to ensure that the problems facing the country are taken care of in the best manner. Sending the refugees back to North Korea is exposing them to the very same living conditions that they are running away from.
If China is willing to play an important role in the problem presented by the regime in North Korea, it should come up with ways through which it can effectively cater for the refugees. The problem in North Korea is fueled by the regime. The two main problems in the country are presented by the food shortage and the human rights violation. A close analysis on these problems shows that the best way to handle these problems is to deal with the regime directly.
Here, the other nations that are hoping to resolve the current situation in North Korea should come up with solutions to deal with the current regime in the country. China’s move to send back the refugees from North Korea back to their country is ill-advised. These refugees should be left should be taken care of as China looks for ways through which the current situation in North Korea can be solved.