The Japanese Red Cross has just informed the International Committee of the Red Cross that, in agreement with the Japanese Government, it is considering giving certain instructions to its representatives as to the procedure to be followed with a view to the repatriation of those Koreans resident in Japan who express the wish to proceed to a place of their choice in their country of origin.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has taken note of this communication, and wishes to state that it is for the Japanese Red Cross alone, on its own responsibility, to establish the repatriation procedure. In agreeing to lend its assistance to the Japanese Red Cross in this undertaking, the International Committee took a decision conditional on the observance of certain fundamental principles, and in particular the following:
1. The repatriation of Koreans resident in Japan must be on a purely individual and voluntary basis.
2. In order to be able freely to decide, every Korean resident in Japan must be informed of the free choice open to him - i.e. to remain in Japan, or to proceed to either North or South Korea.
3. No pressure must be brought to bear on the Koreans during the registration and repatriation operations, and their personal safety must be ensured at all times.
4. Any Korean who so desires must be able freely to consult the representatives of the Japanese Red Cross or of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The International Committee of the Red Cross therefore considers that it is for the Japanese Red Cross to determine within the framework of these principles, the most appropriate procedure so that the repatriation operations may be conducted in such a way as to ensure respect for human dignity and the free choice of the persons concerned. The International Committee must therefore leave it to the Japanese Red Cross and the Japanese authorities to choose the appropriate means for achieving this purpose, in accordance with the principles which are set out above and on which the Committee's cooperation is conditional. Only when the procedure envisaged by the Japanese Red Cross has been put at the test - and not until then - will the International Committee be in a position to state whether the procedure conforms to those principles and whether, as a result, it can still give the assistance requested.
In view of the fact that the amendments in procedure which are being envisaged by the Japanese Red Cross are already known to the press, the International Committee of the Red Cross reserves the right to publish the text of the present communication in due course, after having so advised the Japanese Red Cross.

Geneva, October 30, 1959.