Radio Free Asia reports the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a resolution condemning China for sending North Korean escapees back to North Korea.

The resolution urges China to abide by the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and immediately stop repatriating North Korean escapees to the North.

It also demands the Chinese government discard its practice of automatically defining North Korean escapees as people who illegally crossed the border for economic reasons. The resolution also calls on Beijing to allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to have unlimited access to North Korean escapees.

The initiation of the resolution was led by U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith who chairs the subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights under the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Other joint initiators include Rep. Edward Royce, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.

Royce said the resolution will deliver a strong message to China and Chinese authorities that the repatriation of North Korean escapees must stop.