Helping North Korean Refugees

In midst of the sentencing of two American journalists in North Korea, let’s not forget the hundreds of thousands of North Koreans that seek freedom. Paul Wolfowitz offer solution on how to deal with China and execute the North Korean Human Rights act

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The key with the Chinese will be working, on the one hand, to reassure them that they would not be stuck with a permanent refugee population and, on the other, to remind them, as a signatory to the U.N. refugee protocol, that China needs to comply with its provisions, including allowing access for the UNHCR. Starting slowly, with smaller numbers, could also help. Even relatively modest levels, for example 25,000 per year, could permit resettlement of a quarter of a million refugees over a 10-year period.

Resistance to refugee resettlement is not something new. Despite the much more obvious U.S. responsibility for the Indochinese refugees, it took heroic efforts by outside pressure groups, committed members of Congress, and strong advocates inside the executive branch, particularly then Ambassador to Thailand Mort Abramowitz and then Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. Today, Sens. Sam Brownback and Dianne Feinstein, Reps. Ed Royce and Gary Ackerman, and some other members of Congress have been pressing the issue. But they need help.

Presidents Obama and Lee could accomplish a great humanitarian objective if they were to agree jointly to take leadership along the following lines:

- Proceed with as little fanfare as possible, emphasizing that this is a purely humanitarian effort, not an effort to embarrass North Korea much less to destabilize it.

- Start modestly, committing their two countries to a gradual, steady increase in refugee admissions. This will make it easier to manage the flow of refugees and the challenges of resettlement.

- Enlist as many other countries as possible in the effort, since there is strength and safety in numbers. Some of the countries that welcomed earlier Asian immigrants, such as Australia and Canada, might do so again. In addition, there are other countries with ethnic Korean populations, particularly in Central Asia, which might absorb some North Koreans, particularly if the resettlement costs were borne by the international community.

- Enlist the strong Korean-American community to assist with resettlement in this country on a volunteer basis.