On April 16, 2003, the inaugural general meeting of IPCNKR (International Parliamentarians' Coalition for the North Korean Refugees and Human Rights) was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in central Seoul.

I, Masaharu Nakagawa, attended the general meeting with the approval of the Democratic Party's Policy Affairs Research Council and Diet Affairs Committee. The following is my report on the meeting and our future plan.

1. Participants

Japan
Masaharu Nakagawa, Democratic Party
      Member of the House of Representatives
Shu Watanabe, Democratic Party
      Member of the House of Representatives
Kazuya Shinba, Democratic Party
      Member of the House of Councilors

The United States of America
Ed Royce, Republican Party
      Congress member
Xavier Becerra, Democratic Party
      Congress member
Adam Schiff, Democratic Party
      Congress member
Madeleine Bordallo, Democratic Party
      Congress member

United Kingdom
Baroness Cox
      Member of the House of Lords

Mongolia
Gundalai Lamjay, Democratic Party
      Diet member

South Korea
Hwang Woo Yea, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Yang Jung Kyu, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Lee Kang Too, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Ahn Sang Soo, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Chung Woo Taik, Millennium Democratic Party
      Diet member
Maeng Hyung Kyu, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Yoo Jay-Kun, Millennium Democratic Party
      Diet member
An Dae Ryun, United Liberal Democrat Party
      Diet member
Choung Byoung Gug, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Kim Kyung Cheon, Millennium Democratic Party
      Diet member
Ko Heung Kil, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Lee Won Chang, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Yoon Yea Joon, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Lee Ju Young, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Yoo Han Yul, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Park Myung Hwan, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Cho Woong Kyu, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Kim Young Sun, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Nam Kyung Pil, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Ahn Young Keun, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Cho Bae Sook, Millennium Democratic Party
      Diet member
Jeon Jae Hee, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Kwon Youngse, Grand National Party
      Diet member
Suh Sang Suhp, Grand National Party,
      Diet member

A joint representative system was selected, which is composed of four founders, Hwang Woo Yea (South Korea), Masaharu Nakagawa (Japan), Ed Royce (the United States) and Baroness Cox (United Kingdom). It was decided that the founder of the country hosting the general meeting of the year will be the general representative to serve as the chairman and host. This year, South Korea hosted the general meeting. For the next year's general meeting, Japan will be the hosting country, as requested by all members.

2. Objects and Planned Activities of the IPCNKR

Each year, more than 1,000 defectors from North Korea reach South Korea, and a few dozens defectors come to Japan. Reportedly, in the border area between China and North Korea, there are now some 200,000 to 300,000 defectors from North Korea. The crackdown by the Chinese authorities has grown increasingly severe. With the worsening economic climate in North Korea, the need is becoming more pressing to rescue the people from North Korea who are being forced to hide in China. This can be accomplished by certifying refugees and setting up refugee camps according to International law.

So far, private NGOs in the neighboring nations have been the primary activity centers for helping the North Korean refugees; however, they face limitations in what they can do. Demands have been heard to start up state-level human rights-oriented aid activities based on an international framework.

To cope with the issue, the Parliamentarians' Coalition for North Korean refugees and Humanitarian Problems of the Democratic Party has been providing opportunities for the defectors from North Korea to present testimony through mass media. The organization is also striving to build up an international framework through a network of lawmakers worldwide, and through communication with NGOs.

On March 3-4 this year, I attended at the international symposium hosted by the Korean NGO, Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, and the People in Need Foundation of the Czech Republic. I proposed to set up the international lawmaker coalition, together with Korean Diet members and to send a survey team, together with UNHCR members, to the border area between China and North Korea in order to emphasize the abuse of human rights of North Korean defectors.

Our efforts have merged with Mr. Hwan Woo Yea's efforts to complete the idea, which resulted in establishment of the IPCNKR. This has attracted the opportunity of a visit to South Korea by seven American lawmakers interested in human rights. We wish to complement governmental negotiations and to function as a second track diplomacy initiative based on the support of NGOs.

3. Political assignments in Japan

3-1. To implement, in Japan, the resolutions regarding the issue that have been passed in the United Nations, the United States of America and South Korea.

3-2. To work on a successful approach for expanding the parliamentarian coalition of the Democratic Party on the issue, raising it to an all-party project scale, making it more influential.

3-3. To establish networks with American NGOs, including National Endowment for Democracy (NED), to expand our network.

3-4. To discuss a new legal framework, because the Japanese government can currently do no better than the Chinese government when it comes to granting North Korean defectors the status of refugees.

3-5. To prepare for hosting the IPCNKR's general meeting for the next year, and in particular to secure financial backing.

5-6. To secure strong backing in the Democratic Party to tackle the assignments.

ACTION PLAN

1. The International Parliamentarians' Coalition for the North Korean Refugees and Human Rights (IPCNKR) will make diligent and continuous efforts to provide North Korean refugees with humanitarian aid to reduce the number of North Korean refugees.

2. The IPCNKR will do its best to urge the United Nations to formally grant refugee status to North Korean refugees. To fulfill this goal, the members of the IPCNKR will visit the offices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and relevant countries so as to urge the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) and the governments of countries involved with the issue to protect North Korean refugees. The IPCNKR will make every possible effort to gain free access for North Korean refugees to UNHCR offices, and to prevent any country from repatriating the refugees to their country where they face massive maltreatment.

3. The IPCNKR will establish the Committee for Building a Resettlement Camp for North Korean Refugees (tentative name) to set up a refugee camp for the North Korean refugees.

4. The IPCNKR will pass a joint resolution by the relevant governments in the area to obtain a consensus on the status of North Korean refugees among the involved governments. The IPCNKR will do its best to successfully achieve joint enactment to secure financial means for North Korean refugees in the countries. The IPCNKR will periodically organize and dispatch a fact-finding mission to survey the situations of North Korean refugees.

5. The IPCNKR will release periodic newsletters to the public to keep people abreast of the most up-to-date situation of North Korean refugees and the efforts and activities of IPCNKR. The members of the IPCNKR will do their utmost to convey the good cause of the IPCNKR to the lawmakers in other countries.

JOINT STATEMENT

The concept of human rights surpasses the concept of nation states, and exists to guarantee various rights.

Accordingly, no nations are authorized to arbitrarily decide the level of human rights given to their people.

Furthermore, nation states should monitor each other and continuously work together to encourage the protection of human rights.

Based on the above concept, we have founded a coalition comprising lawmakers from nation states believing in the importance of protecting human rights. The nation states include South Korea, the United States of America, Japan, the United Kingdom and Mongolia.

Current estimates put the number of North Korean refugees in the range of 100,000 to 400,000. They are defecting from their own country to neighboring countries in the Far East area to survive and to seek freedom. If the North Korean defectors are repatriated, they are sure to face maltreatment, pain and deprivation.

Hence, the International Parliamentarians' Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights (IPCNKR) will make the following efforts to protect the human rights of the North Korean refugees:

First, we will do our best to improve the general circumstances of North Korea in order to reduce the number of refugees;

Second, we will make every possible effort to assure that the North Korean refugees are formally certified as refugees by the United Nations;

Third, we will make every possible effort to set up a resettlement residential town in a third country;

Fourth, we will make every possible effort to stop repatriation of the refugees to North Korea if they are arrested by the security agents in the neighboring countries. We will make every possible effort to assure the North Korean refugees are given the opportunity to select the final destination country where they wish to settle. We will also exert efforts to help the refugees adapt themselves to their new environment.

The IPCNKR will exert international-scale efforts to protect the human rights of North Korean refugees, with the objective of overcoming differences in national interests, factions or ideologies.

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Lawmakers from five countries gather at the first IPCNKR meeting, including three members of Japan's Diet. The meeting was held on April 16, 2003.

In Prague, on March 2-4, 2003, Masaharu Nakagawa proposed founding IPCNKR at The Fourth International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees.

Masaharu Nakagawa, in January 2003, visits the border area where many North Korean Refugees flee into China. Here the temperature was -30 degrees C at the Tumen River.