The international community must continue to pay close attention to the worrying human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and find ways to revive dialogue with the government, a senior UN official told Security Council of the UN this Wednesday.
The ambassadors of that UN security body held an open meeting on human rights in the country, commonly known as North Korea, convened by Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.
China and Russia opposed the meeting and asked the 15 members for a procedural vote, which was rejected.
Alone and claustrophobic
From Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described North Korea as “a country isolated from the world” and “a suffocating and claustrophobic environmentwhere life is a daily struggle devoid of hope”.
Volker Turk urged the Government to “turn around orthodoxies and overcome its isolationist mentality, which only engenders a deepening mistrustunleashing an endless spiral of groupthink at the expense of a more prosperous and secure future for its people,” adding that “human rights, in all their dimensions, offer a solution and a way forward.”
The protracted nature of the human rights situation there “is trapping people in unmitigated suffering”, as well as being a factor of instability that has wider regional ramifications.
“It is not possible to separate the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from considerations regarding peace and security on the peninsula, including its increasing militarization,” he insisted.
Residents of Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, waiting to cross the road.
Inability to leave
Türk highlighted the increasing repression of the right to freedom of movement in North Korea. There has been a limited partial reopening of the border in recent months, and it is now almost impossible for people to leave unless they have permission from the Government.
“In short, we are seeing a situation where people can no longer leave even when they are in the most desperate circumstances or in danger of persecution,” he said.
“One consequence is that divided families are even more divided. “That there are no departures means that there is no reunification with families abroad.”
Harsh laws, chilling consequences
Repression of free speech has also worsened, not least due to laws on the consumption of foreign media, the elimination of regional dialects, and ensuring that young people “conform to a socialist lifestyle,” all of which entails harsh penalties.
An “especially chilling example” is that North Koreans “are in danger of death simply by watching or sharing a foreign television series.”
Hunger and forced labor
Türk noted that socioeconomic conditions have become “unbearably harsh” and was especially concerned about the lack of access to food.
“Reports indicate that almost half of the population is food insecure in recent yearsand in some provinces child wasting is increasing,” he said,
Meanwhile, “Forced labor persists in many forms“and the authorities also maintain a high level of control over workers sent abroad.
The UN rights chief said that he also has constantly raised the issue of enforced disappearancesboth within North Korea and from citizens of other countries, such as neighboring South Korea and Japan, which have occurred in the last 70 years.
“Painfully, the truth about the fate of these people, who we estimate to number more than 100,000, remains unknown today,” he said.
The Pyongyang subway.
A 180 degree turn to get out of isolation
Turk stressed the importance of the international community continuing to pay attention to the human rights situation in North Korea.
“The panorama of misery, repression, fear, hunger and hopelessness is deeply alarming,” he said.
“All the paths out of this begin by making a 180 degree turn. from the dead end of self-imposed isolation: open the country, re-engage with the international community, allow contact between people, embrace international cooperation and focus on the well-being of all people.”
Priority to military objectives
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea also addressed the Council.
Elizabeth Salmón reported that the increase in security tensions on the Korean Peninsula has been fueled by the Government’s decision last September to include in the Constitution a policy of strengthening the development of nuclear weaponsfollowed by the announcement in January that it would stop pursuing unification with the Republic of Korea.
“The suspension of the 2018 comprehensive military agreement by both sides also underlines the severity of the problems we face this year,” he said.
Salmon told the ambassadors that The Government’s continued prioritization of its military, nuclear and missile programs has placed a great burden on the populationespecially for women and children.
“The resources available to realize human rights are reduced, the exploitation of labor to finance militarization becomes rampant and, as a result, the protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights is often overlooked,” said.
Learn a horrible truth
Also briefing the ambassadors was civil society representative Gumhyok Kim, who spoke “on behalf of millions of North Koreans who are denied the most basic freedoms of humanity.”
Kim, who defected 12 years ago, admitted he was nervous about speaking at the Council “but I will steel myself by thinking of my friends back home who dream of the freedom to say what I am going to say.”
Born into an important family in the capital, Pyongyang, Kim was 19 when he went to study in Beijing in 2010. Through the Internet, he said he learned about his homeland and “the horrible truth” that until then had been known to him. hidden.
“The country that supposedly had nothing to envy of the rest of the world was nowhere to be found,” Kim said, his voice breaking with emotion. “In their place were political prison camps, death by starvation, public executions and people risking their lives to escape.“.
Kim urged the Council to “stand with the North Korean people, not the dictatorship. We must give the same importance to the rights of the North Korean people as we do to nuclear weapons and missiles.”
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