Russia: Situation of ethnic Koreans on Sakhalin Island; whether they are exposed to serious human rights violations; political representation and available state protection
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 9 August 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | RUS35145.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Russia: Situation of ethnic Koreans on Sakhalin Island; whether they are exposed to serious human rights violations; political representation and available state protection, 9 August 2000, RUS35145.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad750.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No information on the human rights situation of ethnic Koreans living on Sakhalin Islandmore recent than that provided in RUS30761.E of 15 December 1998 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, the March 1998 Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Centre report entitled Compliance of the Russian Federation with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination states that:
Federal government agencies also are not taking any measures to change the situation for Koreans, who were forcibly deported from Korea to Sakhalin Island by the Japanese authorities before and during World War II, and who, after 1945 and until the present time, have not received legal status in the USSR or the RF which would enable them to enjoy basic rights and liberties. At the present time in Sakhalin Region there are more than 35,000 Koreans who are viewed by authorities as persons without citizenship. They are denied all political rights and restricted in a whole range of civil and social rights: the right to freedom of movement, the right to leave one's country, the right to association, the right to free choice of work, and the right to own property.
A 15 March 2000 Red Cross news report states that the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea National Red Cross (RKNRC) and the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) had agreed on a repatriation project of Sakhalin ethnic Koreans to South Korea. Although more than 900 of the original ethnic Koreans deported to Sakhalin Island in the 1940s were repatriated, the project would only allow some of these ethnic Koreans born before 1945 to return to South Korea (ibid.).
A 6 February 2000 report in The Times of India quotes a Korea Herald report as saying that of the estimated 36,000 ethnic Koreans living on Sakhalin Island, 31,500 have Russian nationality, 500 have North Korean nationality and 4,000 are stateless. Only 7,000 of the estimated 43,000 Koreans deported to Sakhalin Island in the 1940s are believed to be still alive (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 15 March 2000. "A Homecoming at Long Last in Korea."
Memorial Human Rights Centre, Moscow. March 1998. Compliance of the Russian Federation with the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The Times of India [Bombay]. 6 February 2000. Harvey Stockwin. "Late Homecoming for Forgotten Koreans."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
Internet sources including:
Amnesty International. Search facility.
Country Reports 1999
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)
Human Rights Watch (WRW). Search facility.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Memorial Human Rights Centre, Moscow. January 2000. Compliance of the Russian Federation with the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. (First draft)
Minority Electronic Resources (MINELRES)
World News Connection (WNC)
