Watching Hollywood movies, listening to any songs you prefer, owning your own computer, watching YouTube videos, it all may seem like a normal thing for this generation to enjoy on a day-to-day basis. But not for anyone living under the North Korean government’s dictatorship. Despite already being past the era of colonialism, these civilians’ human rights are taken away from them every day.

How is this happening? 

This nation has been known to be very strict of their dictatorship and odd, unreasonable laws. Currently, the one in charge is the state’s young dictator, Kim Jong Un. For decades, North Korea has formed their nation to be an isolated and paranoid nation. The dictators have applied inhumane laws that are paranoiac to those who lived under it. One of the inhumane laws that are applied is the three generations rule. When a member of a family commits crime and gets imprisoned, the government has the rights to imprison the next 2 generations after it too. The prisons that they live in are far from sufficient. They are not fed, which makes them eat any animals they see, including rats. Other than that the civilians have no access to non-state controlled media. The only thing they have access to is a state-run version of the internet that is opened to all citizens. But the price point of computers and the amount of minimum wage there makes it practically impossible for them to access internet. Those who violate these laws will be faced with labor camp and public executions. This violates the human rights law article no.3 about the right to live, personal security, and liberty.

 Their Journey

This scars the mental being of all the North Korean civilians. They never chose to be born and to be a part of the nation. Their unfortunateness leads them to suffer. Some people choose to live with it and give up, but some people are brave enough and have enough will to attempt a change. These people attempt to find an escape from their so-called home. They refuge to nearby countries like China and South Korea. Although the border between North and South Korea is secured very tight so it is much riskier to refuge to South Korea than it is to go to China. These people risk their lives during the journey, because if they are caught they will be executed directly.

Yet their journey doesn’t end there. Recently China has been sending these North Korean refugees back to North Korea. They do not accept the existence of refugees in their land and do not treat them equally. This violates the international law of refugee protection article 7 on exemption from reciprocity.

 What We Can Do

This petition is to support the North Korean refugees in China by taking a stand against China. By taking a stand we can force the Chinese government to accept the North Korean refugees in their nation. We can urge the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) to take this issue even more seriously and take further actions to save North Korean refugees. By signing this petition, we are one step closer to saving them.