A/HRC/4/33/Add.1 Page 47 Para Country Date Type Mandate Allegations transmitted Government Response become the concubines of Chinese men. Human traffickers systematically target the women, who are usually hungry and desperate, by approaching them in the border region and promising them food, shelter, employment and protection. Once the traffickers have gained the women’s confidence, the women are lured to an apartment, confined and then sold to local men. The buyers often lock their victims in the house, tie them up or take away their clothing to prevent them from escaping. In many cases, the women are also physically abused and raped. Some women from the DPRK are also trafficked into the sex industry in Jinlin Province and other parts of the PRC. They are forced to prostitute themselves in brothels, which are often disguised as karaoke bars. Women from the DPRK with an irregular visa status are extremely vulnerable to trafficking since the Chinese authorities have reportedly been instructed to arrest and deport DPRK citizens against their will, if they do not have a valid residence permit. The PRC reportedly considers these persons to be irregular migrants who cross the border only for economic reasons. This deportation policy has been adopted despite the fact that DPRK citizens face detention under cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions, illtreatment and torture as well as, in extreme cases, summary execution in the DPRK. Human traffickers are well aware of this deportation policy and often manage to subdue their victims by threatening to report them to the authorities, if they resist. interests of foreign citizens within its territory. Regardless of whether these people have entered the country in the normal fashion or have crossed the frontier illegally, their lawful rights and interests are equally protected under Chinese law. With regard to the issue of the illegal entry into China of citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Chinese Government invariably proceeds in an appropriate manner, consistent with both domestic and international law and in observance of humanitarian principles. In this process, the Chinese police authorities enforce the law in an impartial manner and there are no cases of commissions being paid for the repatriation of citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who have illegally entered China and have been apprehended. The Chinese Government and the public security authorities always attach great importance to safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of women and children, and countering any kind of activities which infringe the rights and interests of women and children. They are consistently and indefatigably working to crack down with severity on any illegal activities involving trafficking in women and children. Starting this year, as a consequence of the increase in contacts between China and foreign countries, offences involving trafficking in women and children are now starting to occur in China as well. The