The Sources of Human Rights

New York, NY - The Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and other international NGOs co-organized an event at the United Nations General Assembly focusing on crimes against humanity in North Korea. Co-sponsored by the governments of Australia, Botswana and Panama, the event featured remarks by Justice Michael Kirby, former Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) for the DPRK, and testimonies by two victims of North Korea’s political prison camps, Ms. Kim Hyesook and Mr. Jung Gwang-il.

“The fact that, for the first time, countries from Africa and South America co-sponsored a human rights event on North Korea at the UN sends a strong message to the North Korean regime that its crimes against humanity are now a truly global issue,” said Joanna Hosaniak, Deputy Director General of NKHR, who heads the NKHR delegation of NKHR in New York. “During NKHR’s individual meetings with numerous permanent missions to the UN, representing countries from around the world, several states that typically abstained in the past from voting on human rights resolutions regarding North Korea indicated that they would shift their position in favor of such resolutions, including the resolution currently being considered by the General Assembly," she added.

A nine-member delegation from the DPRK also, unexpectedly, took part in the meeting, marking the DPRK’s first ever appearance at an official UN side event focused on its human rights record.  Following the comments by the panel, the DPRK delegation initiated a heated debate as it questioned Justice Kirby about the methodology and findings of the COI.  It was the first time that the DPRK directed questions to any member of the COI. The DPRK accused the COI of manipulating witnesses and evidence, and called the COI’s findings of crimes against humanity “groundless.” Justice Kirby emphasized that such allegations were untrue, while also strongly denying any political motivations on the part of the COI.  Justice Kirby also implored that, because North Korea promises its citizens freedom of speech and expression in its constitution, the COI report should be made available to all DPRK citizens, so that they themselves may judge its credibility. He also strongly requested that the DPRK withdraw its previous statements that witnesses who testified before the COI are “human scum.”

Representatives from Canada, the United States, the European Union and Japan also joined the debate.  They each reiterated their support for the resolution on human rights in North Korea and called on the DPRK to show concrete action toward improving its human rights record, and not offer only words. The resolution, which will come up for vote at the UN General Assembly in a few weeks, reflects the language of the resolution adopted at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier this year. It acknowledges the findings of the COI that crimes against humanity have been conducted “pursuant to policies at the highest level of the State for decades,” and it encourages the UN Security Council to consider referring the human rights situation in North Korea to the International Criminal Court. 

In recent weeks, North Korea circulated its own human rights counter-resolution at the UN General Assembly, commending itself for engaging in dialogue with the UN and achieving high standards in human rights. North Korea’s resolution also encouraged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to cooperate with the nation’s officials, despite the contradictory facts that, for over ten years North Korea, has itself refused to cooperate with independent experts of the UN Human Rights Council—known as “thematic special procedures”—and rejected repeated requests for technical cooperation by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Today's event comes at an important time for UN member states to bring the attention back to the victims of the North Korean regime. It is a critical time for member states to make clear that, despite the recent “charm offensive” by the North Korean regime, there are ongoing, widespread and systematic human rights violations occurring in North Korea that call for the international community’s solidarity with the victims, and for strong measures against those responsible for those crimes.  As the Ambassador of Botswana stated at today’s event, the international community cannot “just sit back and watch the events in the DPRK take place.”  Botswana, too, expressed strong support for the resolution and encouraged other member states to join the resolution.