Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Chinese counterpart on China's responsibilities under the 1951 Refugee Convention on the non-refoulment of refugees.

We are aware of reports of North Korean refugees being forcefully repatriated to North Korea. We emphasise directly to the Chinese authorities that they should not be detaining and forcefully repatriating North Korean refugees. The UK actively promotes the implementation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. At the 17 August UN Security Council meeting on the human rights situation in the DPRK, the UK called on all states to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.