25 Feb 2025
Chinese fishing vessels allegedly used North Korean crews in violation of UN sanctions, subjecting workers to forced labour conditions
Summary
Date Reported: 30 Jun 2023
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Indonesia , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobility , Violence , Harassment (other than sexual) , InjuriesResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 31 May 2024
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 29 Feb 2024
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobility , Harassment (other than sexual) , Intimidation , Excessive production targets , Injuries , Occupational Health & SafetyResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 29 Feb 2024
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 29 Feb 2024
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 31 Jan 2022
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobility , Wage Theft , Contract Substitution , Harassment (other than sexual) , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure TimeResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 31 Jan 2022
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Wage Theft , Violence , Retention of identity documents , Excessive production targets , Contract SubstitutionResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 30 Jun 2024
Location: China
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - North Korea , Fishing , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: None reported.
Source type: NGO
"Chinese fishing vessels used North Korean crews in breach of UN bans, a report says" 25 February 2025
A fleet of Chinese fishing vessels used North Korean crews between 2019 and 2024 in violation of U.N. bans, and many people were apparently subjected to abuses including being trapped at sea for years, a report said Monday.
The Environmental Justice Foundation, a London-based group specializing in environmental and human rights issues, said it identified the presence of North Koreans on 12 Chinese tuna long-liners operating in the southwest Indian Ocean...
“The testimony received from Indonesian and Filipino crew members suggests that concerted efforts were made to hide the presence of North Koreans on these vessels, and that those North Koreans on board were forced to work for as many as 10 years at sea — in some instances without ever stepping foot on land,” the report said.
“This would constitute forced labor of a magnitude that surpasses much of that witnessed in a global fishing industry already replete with abuse,” it added.
The group said the North Koreans were passed from vessel to vessel to prevent them from returning to land. It cited unidentified Asian crew members as saying their North Korean shipmates were not allowed to use mobile phones or leave vessels during port visits...
North Korean workers abroad were in general under the constant surveillance of their country’s security agents, toiled more than 12 hours a day and took home a fraction of their salaries, with the rest going to their government, according to defectors and experts ...
The use of North Korean crew would be a breach of 2017 U.N. Security Council resolutions that required member states not to issue work permits to North Koreans and repatriate all remaining North Korean workers from their territories by the end of 2019...
The EJF said that it also found ships that were suspected of collecting fish from the Chinese vessels had entered key markets in Asia including Japan, Taiwan and South Korea...