Chapter Five. Conclusion

Transcription

1 Chapter Five Conclusion

2 5.1 Conclusion Lee Sock Bum Taking into account the evidence discussed throughout this Report, we conclude that the human rights situation in North Korea is generally poor and we sympathise with the international community s concerns regarding human rights violations there. However, it should be pointed out that North Korean human rights issues are very closely tied to the division between North and South Korea and to military tensions in Northeast Asia. Therefore, we believe that the way forward requires an integrated effort to improve North Korean human rights, comprised of cooperation and constructive criticism. North Korean human rights issues should not be confined to matters arising in North Korea alone. Rather, concern with North Korean human rights must incorporate matters affecting the rights of every North Korean, their family and other relatives, regardless of where they are found. Specifically, North Korean human rights include the rights of all those affected by the North-South division and the resulting humanitarian issues: North Koreans who actually live in North Korea, North Korean defectors in South Korea and third countries, separated families, abductees and POWs. The principal causes for North Korean human rights violations can be divided into two categories: internal factors and external factors. Internally, the North Korean political and economic system (often represented by the supreme leader (suryong) system and the military-first policy) is the primary cause. Externally, the prolonged, 60-year division of the Korean peninsula and the containment policy and sanctions applied by the US since the founding of North Korea have also had an effect. In other words, North Korean human rights issues are not confined solely to North Korea. Rather, North Korean human rights matters affect the entire Korean peninsula, which has been greatly affected by the division between North and South since the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. Therefore, narrowing the scope of North Korean human rights concerns and holding the North Korean government alone responsible for human rights violations would show not only a failure to fully comprehend the reality of the situation, it would also risk politicising any discussion on improving matters. We suggest four principles for improving North Korean human rights. The first is compliance with international human rights principles. As is the case with human rights issues in other countries or regions, North Korean human rights should be improved based on the universal principles of international human rights. Furthermore, it is important to closely adhere to the three elements that apply when the international community concerns itself with the human rights issues of a specific country peacefully, with respect and reciprocity and by enhancing human rights practically. The second principle is balancing human rights with peace. The fundamental spirit of the UN Charter cannot be reconciled with the war the Korean peninsula has experienced and the continuing military tensions. Improvement of North Korean human rights should be conducted in harmony with efforts to establish peace throughout the Korean peninsula. In other words, peace on the Korean 306 Report on Human Rights in North Korea 2014

3 peninsula would be in vain unless North Korean human rights are improved, and improvement of North Korean human rights would be meaningless if the restoration of peace on the Korean peninsula is ignored. Both aspects must be dealt with simultaneously. The third principle relates to the substantive improvement of human rights. All discussions of North Korean human rights should contribute to their substantive improvement. In pursuit of this, North Korea s circumstances must be considered: It is a socialist country, exposed to a security threat, and underdeveloped. The fourth principle is the cooperative improvement of human rights. If the substantive improvement of North Korean human rights is to be sustainable, North Korea needs to develop a willingness and ability to protect and promote human rights of its own volition. It follows that the proper role for the international community and its policy toward North Korean human rights should be that of an assistant, guiding North Korea in monitoring and promoting the process of human rights improvement on its own. It should be noted that excessive interference from the international community, based on feelings of superiority, hostility towards North Korea or on a pessimistic assessment of North Korean human rights, may result in a worsening of the human rights situation. Based on these four principles, we suggest the following guidelines for policies to improve human rights in North Korea: First, the North Korean government must play the principal role in improving the human rights of its citizens. The international community should monitor and evaluate the situation by encouraging North Korea to improve its inadequate human rights adherence and by suggesting measures that North Korea can take to improve human rights there. In addition, the international community should play the role of facilitator by supporting North Korea s efforts to develop a human rights infrastructure. Secondly, all discussion and approaches with respect to North Korean human rights should be focused on substantively improving the human rights situation there. Attempts to pursue a different goal in the name of human rights or to criticise unproductively without suggesting effective measures to be taken should be avoided. Thirdly, approaches to North Korean human rights should not be confined to specific areas of human rights. Rather, they should be treated comprehensively, in a harmonised way. In addition to the five international conventions North Korea has joined the ICCPR, the ICESCR, CEDAW, CRC and CRPD any discourse on North Korean human rights should also encompass, given the unity and mutual inseparability of human rights, the right to development, the right to peace, and the right to preserve and enjoy national culture. In addition, to assure that all residents of the Korean peninsula, North and South, have the right to live in peace, the economic sanctions imposed on North Korea should be lifted and the confrontational relationship between North and South should be transformed into a cooperative one. Fourthly, the various parties participating in improving North Korean human rights including the government, civil society, concerned countries and international organisations need to cooperate through a mutual and complementary relationship. If each party cooperates with the others based on an understanding of the situation and the interests and capacity of others, their cooperation 2014 Report on Human Rights in North Korea 307

4 will contribute significantly to the improvement of North Korean human rights. Among the various parties, the active role of the South Korean government will be very important in terms of protecting and promoting human rights across the entire Korean peninsula. History suggests that North Korean human rights improve when the relationship between North and South improves. That the international community has pointed this out is quite meaningful. 402 Fifthly, North Korean human rights should be improved in concert with other universal values. The harmonious pursuit of universal values shared by the international community, together with human rights, has been confirmed repeatedly in the UN Charter, in the Declaration of the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna, and in international conventions. Put another way, any approach that pressures the North Korean regime in the name of human rights improvement but ignores resolution of the other humanitarian issues between North and South or undermines efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement on the Korean peninsula should be avoided. According to the four principles for improving human rights in North Korea and the guidelines for policies set forth above, we urge the North Korean government to undertake the following: devise various measures to guarantee and protect the human rights of its residents and take substantive measures without delay; accept resources and methods that the international community offers for improving human rights; and respond to international dialogue regarding human rights without condition. At the same time, we urge the international community to continue to monitor the overall situation of North Korean human rights, and support, enter into a dialogue with, and cooperate with North Korea. The UN should continue discussions with North Korea regarding its human rights situation and provide technical assistance. The international community must also provide humanitarian aid and developmental assistance in tandem for sustainable improvement, beyond the mere assurance of the right to survive. In addition, the international community must encourage South-North talks to solve various humanitarian issues. Lastly, the international community must support efforts to convert the relationship between North and South from one governed by an armistice agreement to one settled through a peace treaty, in order to promote and preserve the right to peace for the residents of the Korean peninsula. As part of this initiative, the international community must support the improvement of South-North, US-North and Japan-North relationships, and must urge an end to military pressure and sanctions against North Korea. So far, the UN s human rights mechanisms have attempted to tackle the North Korean human rights situation by requesting that North Korea takes steps to improve the human rights of its citizens and by urging international attention and participation. In response, North Korea has partially cooperated with the UN and has entered into talks with a few countries. However, in many cases, North Korea has refused to cooperate. It is certainly not effective to attempt to tackle North Korean human rights issues without North Korea s cooperation; doing so only causes political controversy. Therefore, continued effort must be made to enable the international community and North Korea to maintain a constructive and cooperative relationship through regular communication and technical cooperation. The current situation, in which South Korea and North Korea have different political and economic systems and are opposed ideologically and militarily, imposes a double hardship: South Korea should 402 See recommendations specified in the conclusion of the UN COI Report published on 17 February Report on Human Rights in North Korea 2014

5 take an active role in improving human rights in North Korea without raising human rights issues solely as a means of putting political pressure on North Korea. We would like to point out that pressurising and isolating North Korea, or using human rights issues as a means to do so, will not bring about a positive outcome Report on Human Rights in North Korea 309

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