CAT/C/CHN/CO/5
Shuanggui system
44.
While noting the State party’s position that the internal disciplinary system of the
Chinese Communist Party for investigating officials (shuanggui) has a legal basis and does
not permit the use of torture, the Committee expresses concern at reported cases of officials
who have been subject to ill-treatment under this system. It is also concerned that the
discipline inspection commissions can summon and investigate officials outside the
ordinary law enforcement system, and that suspects do not have a right to have a counsel
during the interrogation, which leaves them at risk of torture (arts. 2 and 12).
45.
The State party should ensure that the practice of detaining officials for
interrogation under the shuanggui disciplinary system is abolished and that any
disciplinary proceedings are conducted with full observance of the requirements of
fair and proper procedure, including the right to be legally represented. The State
party should also ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment within the shuanggui
disciplinary system are promptly investigated in an impartial manner by an
independent body and that there is no institutional or hierarchical relationship
between that body’s investigators and the suspected perpetrators of such acts.
Non-refoulement and forced repatriations to the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea
46.
While welcoming the adoption in 2012 of the Exit-Entry Administration Law (see
para. 4 (b) above), the Committee remains concerned that, in the absence of national
asylum legislation and administrative procedures, the refugee determination process has to
be carried out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR). The Committee is also concerned at the State party’s rigorous policy of forcibly
repatriating all nationals of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the ground that
they have illegally crossed the border solely for economic reasons. In that regard, the
Committee takes note of over 100 testimonies received by United Nations sources (see
A/HRC/25/63, paras. 42-45), in which nationals of the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea indicate that persons forcibly repatriated to the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea have been systematically subjected to torture and ill-treatment. In the light of this
information, the Committee regrets the State party’s failure to clarify, in spite of the
questions raised during the dialogue, whether or not nationals of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea are denied access to refugee determination procedures in China through
UNHCR, as reported to the Committee by various sources (art. 3).
47.
The State party should:
(a)
Adopt the necessary legislative measures to fully incorporate into
domestic legislation the principle of non-refoulement set out in article 3 of the
Convention, and promptly establish a national asylum procedure, in cooperation with
UNHCR;
(b)
Immediately cease forcible repatriation of undocumented migrants and
victims of trafficking to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and allow
UNHCR personnel unimpeded access to nationals of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea who have crossed the border, in order to determine if they qualify
for refugee status.
48.
The Committee reminds the State party that under no circumstance should the
State party expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are
substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected
to torture. In order to determine the applicability of the obligations that it has
assumed under article 3 of the Convention, the State party should thoroughly examine
the merits of each individual case, including the overall situation with regard to
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