DAVID ADAMS reports…
Religious freedom and human rights organisation Christian Solidarity Worldwide has welcomed the release of a new report detailing crimes against humanity being committed in the reclusive state.
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TENUOUS SITUATION NEEDS WISE HANDLING Religious liberty advocate ELIZABETH KENDAL says Christians need to be praying for North Korea and its church… On 21st March, 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed Resolution A/HRC/RES/22/13 which established the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Resolution gave the commission a 12-month mandate to investigate systematic and widespread human rights abuses in North Korea. North Korean Ambassador So Se Pyong denounced the Resolution as “an instrument that serves the political purposes of the hostile forces in their attempt to discredit the image of the DPRK”, adding, ‘”those human rights abuses mentioned in the resolution do not exist in our country.” The Commission of Inquiry’s report was released on 17th February. It documents “a wide array of crimes against humanity” and details ‘”unspeakable atrocities'” and concludes: “The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world”. As noted in the report: “The State considers the spread of Christianity a particularly serious threat, since it challenges ideologically the official personality cult and provides a platform for social and political organisation and interaction outside the realm of the State. Apart from the few organised State-controlled churches, Christians are prohibited from practising their religion and are persecuted. People caught practising Christianity are subject to severe punishments…'”(Article 31) The report also remarked on what is without a doubt the key dynamic of North Korea today: “Strengthening market forces and advancements in information technology have allowed greater access to information from outside the country as information and media from the Republic of Korea and China increasingly enter the country. The State’s monopoly on information is therefore being challenged by the increasing flow of outside information into the country and the ensuing curiosity of the people for ‘truths’ other than those provided by State propaganda. Authorities seek to preserve their monopoly on information by carrying out regular crackdowns and enforcing harsh punishments.” (Article 30) Groomed to rule, Kim Jong-un assumed power after his father (‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong-il) died in December 2011. At his father’s funeral, Kim Jong-un accompanied his father’s casket along with the ‘Gang of Seven’ – an inner circle of elites tasked with guiding and mentoring the young ruler. By the end of 2013, four of the seven had been purged and one demoted. Kim Jong-un is consolidating power and establishing a new order that he hopes will have a better chance of holding on to power through the challenging times ahead. According to analysts, “…the upper ranks of North Korean leadership are now sprinkled with people who hold a known interest in (economic) reform.” Kim, who did his secondary schooling in Switzerland, and his younger clique know that the information seeping in will generate anger and dissent as North Korea’s impoverished masses become aware of their plight relative to the outside world. So in a race against time the regime is implementing agricultural and economic reforms designed to raise the living standards of ordinary Koreans. The regime is also easing the way for foreign investment and undertaking major infrastructure projects – highways, theme parks and resorts – designed to make North Korea more attractive to North Koreans as well as to Chinese tourists. It is a delicate balancing act, for Kim knows that while things have to change, change is incredibly risky. It is commendable that the UN report is shining a spotlight on the horrific situation inside North Korea. However, the situation needs to be handled with great care and wisdom rather than belligerently. For example, if too much pressure is applied or if ‘hostile forces’ use the report to fan the flames of revolution for their own political, economic and geo-strategic ends, then repression could escalate to unprecedented levels or the state descend into a widespread bloodbath. Neither would benefit the church in North Korea. Realistically, the report can only be used as leverage to get prisoners released and rights improved if the regime is assured it will not be threatened. When faced with such an unpalatable truth, it is essential to keep focused on North Korea’s long-suffering church which so desperately needs deliverance and freedom. Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. See http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com.au/ |
The report of the United Nations’ Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea – chaired by former Australian High Court Justice Michael Kirby – was released in Geneva earlier this week.
It found a wide range of crimes against humanity have been committed in North Korea as a result of “policies established at the highest level of the State”.
“The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world,” the commission said in the report.
“These crimes against humanity entail extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions, and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the unhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.”
The report added that crimes against humanity are ongoing because the “policies, institutions and patterns of impunity which lie at their heart remain in place.”
It called for urgent action from the international community to address the violations, including referral of matters to the International Criminal Court, and in a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un included in the report, the inquiry’s commissioners said they will recommend referral to the ICC “to render accountable all those, including possibly yourself, who may be responsible for the crimes against humanity…”.
Mervyn Thomas, chief executive of CSW, welcomed publication of what he said was “the most comprehensive, detailed and authoritative documentation of North Korea’s appalling human rights violations”.
“The UN and all member states now have a responsibility to act upon the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, and ensure that this report does not sit on a shelf but serves as a plan of action to end the suffering of the North Korean people and hold the perpetrators of crimes against humanity to account,” he said.
“The world’s worst human rights crisis, in the world’s most closed nation, can no longer be its most forgotten. From this day on, no one can claim they did not know. The world now knows, and it is now time to act.”
Noting that the report came seven years after a CSW report recommending the establishment of an international inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea with the view of referring a case to the International Criminal Court, he urged the UN Security Council to do just that and act on the inquiry’s recommendation that the human rights crisis be referred to the ICC.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the findings of the report “need to be treated with the greatest urgency, as they suggest that crimes against humanity of an unimaginable scale continue to be committed in the DPRK”.
She said while insufficient attention has been paid to the “horrific and sustained human rights violations” in the past, “there can no longer be any excuses for inaction”.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “deeply disturbed” by the findings.
The 400 page report – which has been published in two parts – was based on first-hand testimony from victims and witnesses. Its findings included:
• that an estimated 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners are currently being held in camps where starvation is used as a means of control and punishment;
• that women and girls, thanks to violations of food rights and freedom of movement, are vulnerable to trafficking and forced sex work outside the DPRK with many attempting to flee to China as a result, despite facing torture, prolonged detention, sexual violence and, if pregnant, forced abortions;
• that state surveillance permeates private lives with virtually no expression critical of the political system undetected and unpunished;
• that the state’s monopolisation of access to food has been used as an “important means to enforce political loyalty”;
• that military spending has always been prioritised even during periods of mass starvation; and,
• since 1950, the state has externalised violence through sponsoring abductions and enforced disappearances of people from other nations.
The Commission of Inquiry, which was established by the Human Rights Council in March last year, will formally present its report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 17th March.
Full copies of the report can be downloaded from the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights – www.ohchr.org.
