Human Rights in North Korea

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES POLICY incision POLICY BRIEFING adult male rights in uniting Korea Abstract The homophile rights record in the popular Peoples Re world of Korea (DPRK, or northwesterly Korea) has been widely condemned by the worldwide corporation, including by the EU and the European sevens. The emanation of the latest ruler of the Kim dynasty, Kim Jong-un, in December 2011 has not brought tangible change. Since the plain is practically closed to foreigners, the human rights situation can only be evaluated ground on the testimonies of refugees and defectors.Their reports consistently reveal blatant and unregenerated violations of human rights, which aim to elicit the total submission of the inelegants citizens to the regime and its ideology. While the majority of northwestward Koreans arrive from permanent hunger, those who try to leave the country demonstrate harsh punishment upon repatriation. Citizens suspected of being un-American to the regime and their families be placed, with unwrap trial, in prison camps with abhorrent conditions. northeastern Korea is among the countries carrying out the highest numbers of executions in the world.FOR European PARLIAMENT INTERNAL USE ONLY DG EXPO/B/PolDep/Note/2012_265 PE 491. 441 September 2012 EN insurance Department, Directorate-General for outdoor(a) Policies This Policy Briefing was requested by the European Parliaments delegation for relations with Australia and in the buff Zealand. AUTHOR Anete BANDONE Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union Policy Department WIB 06 M 85 rue Wiertz 60 B-1047 capital of Belgium Feedback to anete. emailprotected europa. eu is welcome. Editorial Assistant Pia VANNESTE LINGUISTIC VERSION Original ENABOUT THE PUBLISHER Manuscript correct on 17 September 2012. European Union, 2012 Printed inBelgium This Policy Briefing is available on the intranet site of the Directorate-General for External Policies, in the Regions and c ountries or Policy Areas section. To obtain paper copies, please send a request by e-mail to emailprotected europa. eu. DISCLAIMER Any opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily repre move the official position of the European Parliament.Reproduction and translation, except for commercial purposes, are authorised, provided the initiation is acknowledged and provided the publisher is given prior notice and supplied with a copy of the universeation. 2 human race rights in conglutination Korea TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Overview piece rights violations outside(a) treaties Reactions of the international community Annexes 4 5 10 10 14 3 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies 1. Overview The Democratic Peoples body politic of Korea is an authoritarian state that emerged subsequently the Second World War and has been ruled by the Kim dynasty ever since.The latest national elections, held in mar ch 2009, were neither free nor fair. due north Koreas human rights record is based principally on the testimonies of refugees and defectors. spousal relationship Koreas human rights situation is hard to assess the access of foreigners to the country is restricted and those who do enter are under close surveillance. northwestern Koreans are not allowed to leave the country, which means that reports are mainly based on the contributions of refugees and defectors.Non- organizational organisations (NGOs) report that northmost Korea commits blatant human rights violations arbitrary and indefinite imprisonment, political prison camps, torture, public executions, suppression of workers rights, and prohibitions on freedoms of expression, media, movement, association and religion 1 . northwestern Koreas human rights violations feel been widely condemned, including by the United Nations General convocation and Human Rights Council, which have choose several annunciations.Nevertheles s, the sexual union Korean regime insists that there are no human rights issues in the country, arguing that its establishment has been chosen by the hoi polloi The words human rights sound absolutely nonsensical in the DPRK where the dignity and independent rights of the working plenty are fully guaranteed legally and institutionally. 2 No tangible changes have been seen since Kim Jongun assumed power in December 2011. The ascension of Kim Jong-un after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in December 2012 has hardly changed the grim situation, although Kim Jong-un has verbalize astir(predicate) improving peoples lives.As recently as December 2011 DPRK political science issued a statement indicating they would annihilate up to third generations of a family if a family member fled the country during the 100-day period of mourning by-line the death of Kim Jong-il Border controls were similarly intensified 3 . 1 2 US State Department Korean Central advanceds Agency 2012 3 ICNK, Kim Jong Un Tightens Grip along Border , 16 January 2012 4 Human rights in North Korea 2. Human rights violations 2. 1. ExecutionsNorth Koreas criminal code foresees the death penalty for more than 20 crimes, including smuggling and dealing narcotics, larceny state property and counterfeiting currency. The code also allows for arbitrary decisions by the authorities, who can determine the gravest cases or passing serious cases 4 . In 2011 North Korea executed 30 or more people, placing the country among the ranks of those carrying out the greatest number of executions in the world, according to Amnesty global 5 . 2. 2. Torture and ill-treatmentPersons who are accuse and arrested are often subjected to torture to enforce obedience and obtain bribes or entropy, despite the fact that North Koreas criminal code prohibits torture or inhuman treatment. harmonise to Human Rights Watch, common forms of torture allow sleep deprivation, beatings with iron rods or sticks, kicking an d slapping, and enforced sitting or standing for hours. A accept conducted in 2010 found that 60 % of previously imprisoned refugee respondents had witnessed a death due to beating or torture 6 . . 3. Some 200 000 people live in prison camps incarcerated with their families and without trial. Prison camps According to Amnesty International, around 200 000 prisoners (about 0. 85 % of the population) are held in six large political prison camps (gwalliso). People who are suspected of not being loyal to the regime are sent to these camps without a trial, often with three generations of their family spouses, children and parents and mostly without any hope of release.The prisoners may have committed crimes such as not dusting a portrait of the leader or being Christian 7 . North Korea has neer recognised 4 accounting of the supererogatory Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea 5 Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions 2011 6 Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report 2012 7 The Economist, The gulag bed the goose-steps, 21 April 2012 8 The Situation of Detainees in Gulag System 5 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies that these camps exist.Conditions in the camps tone-beginning those of slavery, with starvation and no medical treatment. Prisoners, including children, are forced to work in conditions approaching slavery, e. g. , mining, logging and farming, seven-spot eld a week for twelve hours or more per day. They are frequently subjected to torture and unbroken on the verge of starvation. A defector has described the daily ration as approximately cardinal grains of corn per prisoner. Convicts search through cow dung for undigested grain. No medical treatment is provided in the camp.Pregnant women are subjected to forced abortions or forced to give up their babies upon delivery to be murdered or abandoned. 8 . In 2011, Amnesty International said it believed North Koreas p rison camps were expanding. The organisation based its findings on satellite pictures 9 prison camps can be seen on Google Earth. 2. 4. Food shortages North Korea has been dependent on intellectual nourishment aid since famine in the mid1990s. In work on 2011, the UN estimated that more than six one million million million insecure persons in North Korea needed immediate international food aid 10 .With food shortages ambit more than one million tonnes, the World Food Programme called it the worst famine in a decade. Among the causes are floods, an extremely harsh winter discriminatory food policies that favour the elite, and the economic mismanagement of a monetary devaluation scheme in November 2009 that wiped out many peoples savings. In his February 2012 report, United Nations (UN) superfluous Rapporteur Marzuki Darusman called on the DPRK political sympathies activity to allocate more resources to agriculture than to its military sector 11 .At the analogous time, he em phasised that food should never ne used as an instrument of political and economic pressure (referring to a 1999 General remonstrate on the right to food by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) 12 . Nevertheless, the U. S. hang up its plans for food aid to North Korea after the announcement of a new rocket launch in March. In June 2012, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Coordinator in capital of North Korea, Jerome Sauvage, reported that one in deuce children in North Korea is stunted due to malnourishment 13 .The year 2013 could be particularly difficult for North Koreans as the 9 Amnesty International, Amnesty International Report Exposes North Korean Gulags, June 2011 10 HRW World Report 2012 11 Report of the supererogatory Rapporteur 2012 12 Report of the Special Rapporteur 2012 13 Reuters, U. N. approbative on U. S. aid for North Korea, food still a problem, June 2012 6 Human rights in North Korea country may face a new famine due to losses of up to 13 % of its grain harvest this year, according to a recent report by a South Korean official 14 .Losses result from a drought that followed widespread flooding this summer and that obliged the country to request immediate food assistance. The regime has announced that it has set a goal for 2012 the centenary of the turn in of Kim Il Sung, the first leader of the DPRK to develop its economy, improve its peoples lives and attract foreign investment 15 . In August 2012, the uncle of North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un, Jang songthaek, met mainland Chinas President Hu Jintao to explore ways to revive North Koreas decimated economy and carry on beyond the Marxist economic model 16 .There are also reports of plans for financial reform 17 . 2. 5. Media and internet Kim Jong-IIs death clearly demonstrated how tight the presidential terms grip remains on the media and information the news was broadcast on North Korean state television only two days later 18 . All sources of media, such as radio and television, are strictly controlled by the government and heavily censored. The contents of national media almost entirely consist of political propaganda and the promotion of the leaders personality cults. net use is limited to the political elite.Mobile phone access is limited to an internal network (one million users or 4 % of the inhabitants), and international calls can only be made by foreigners and the political elite 19 . Fines for making an international call can be as high as KPW 1 million (about USD 1 100), coupled with one week of detention 20 . North Korea is ranked second-to-last out of 179 countries in the World Press immunity Index, before Eritrea 21 . 2. 6. Freedom of expression The government symmetricly evaluates its citizens the true to the regime with the help of a large network of informants.Persons considered subversive are punished disloyal inhabitants of capital of North Korea are expulsed from the capital 22 . 14 15 Reuters, Destitute North Koreas grain harvest seen go sharply, 4 September 2012 CIA World Fact Book 16 Reuters, Chinas Hu gives show of support for North Korea, 17 August 2012 17 ICNK, The Signs of Financial Reform in North Korea, 28 August 2012 18 Reporters Without Borders North Korea 19 US State Department 20 Reporters Without Borders North Korea 21 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index 22 HRW World Report 2012 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies 2. 7. Freedom of prevarication and association The countrys 1992 governing body includes provisions for freedom of assembly and association, although this is not respected in practice. All organisations are created by the government 23 . 2. 8. Freedom of religion The DPRK is officially an atheist state. Autonomous religious activities are almost non existent, although the government sponsors some religious groups to create the illusion of religious freedom 24 .The constitution foresees freedom of religion , piece specifying that no one may use religion as a means by which to puff of air in foreign powers or to destroy the state or social order 25 . In 2009, the South Korean Investigative Commission on Crime Against Humanity reported on the public execution of a Christian woman accused of distributing the Bible. The Bible is banned in the North 26 . 2. 9. Freedom of movement refugees Leaving the country without state permission is a crime in North Korea.Those who leave most often to go to China face harsh punishment if repatriated. Moreover, as mentioned above, DPRK authorities issued a statement in December 2011 indicating that they would annihilate up to three generations of a family if a family member fled the country during the 100-day period of mourning for the death of Kim Jong-il 27 . Border controls were also intensified last year 28 . Over the years, up to 400 000 North Koreans have fled the country, and many are living in neighbouring China as illegal immigrants.They are routinely repatriated, despite Chinas obligation to offer protection to refugees under international law, the Refugee assembly of 1951 and the Conventions 1967 Protocol, to which China is a state party 29 . In March 2012, at least 41 North Korean refugees were forcibly repatriated by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to the DPRK 30 . In June four of them were executed 31 . Up to 400 000 North Koreans have escaped. Those who are repatriated face harsh punishment. 23 US State Department 2011 Human Rights Reports Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea 24 25 CIA World Fact BookMinority Rights Group International North Korea Overview 26 BBC, North Korea executes Christians , July 2009 27 European Parliament Resolution, 25 May 2012 28 Report of the Special Rapporteur 2012 29 HRW World Report 2012 30 UN Human Rights Council 31 ICNK, North Korea executes 4 defectors sent back from China 8 Human rights in North Korea 2. 10. Labour rights North Korea is one of the few countries that have no t joined the International Labour constitution (ILO). The ruling Korean Workers Party controls the only authorised trade union organisation, the General Federation of championship Unions of Korea 32 . 2. 11. Minority rightsThere is no specific provision regarding the protection of minorities in North Korean legislation. North Korea is one of the worlds most homogeneous countries in linguistic and ethnic terms almost all 23 million inhabitants are ethnic Koreans whose ancestors have been living there for thousands of years. There is only one, very bantam Chinese minority of around 50 000. 33 2. 12. Rights of disabled people Although North Korea participated in the 2012 Paralympics in London, there have been reports in the past of disabled newborns being killed and of disabled people being sent to special camps and banned from the capital 34 .A 2003 law stipulates equal access for disabled persons to public operate but has not been implemented. 35 2. 13. Abductions In the past, th e DPRK has been involved in the abduction of foreign citizens, mainly South Korean and Japanese individuals. More than 500 persons have reportedly been kidnapped. However, no fall out has been made with investigations into such abductions or the release of abductees since 2002, when two Japanese nationals were returned to Japan 36 . The DPRK had promised to reopen the investigation into the cases of suspected abductions of Japanese nationals in 2008 37 . . 14. Rule of law And independent judiciary and individual rights do not exist in North Korea, although, according to the countrys constitution, courts are independent 32 33 HRW Report 2012 Minority Rights Group International North Korea Overview 34 ICNK, Disability, the Paralympics, and Ji Seong Ho, 30 August 2012 35 US State Department 2011 Human Rights Reports Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea 36 Report of the Special Rapporteur 2012 37 US State Department 2011 Human Rights Reports Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea 9Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies and judicial proceedings must strictly follow the law. 3. International treaties North Korea is party to four international human rights treaties ? ? ? ? the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). 4. Reactions of the international community 4. 1. UNIn March 2012 a UN Human Rights Council adopted a declaration expressing concerns about the grave, widespread and systematic human rights abuses human rights violations in North Korea. The resolving power deplored the refusal of the government to allow the Special Rapporteur on human rights access to the country 38 . For the first time, North Koreas allies in the Council (including China and Russia) did not call for a vote, but instead allowed the resolution to pass by consensus 39 . This sort of resolution has, in the past, had little impact on North Korea.When a previous resolution on human rights condemned the situation in the North, the countrys state news agency, the Korean Central News Agency, ran the following response As already reported, the resolution on human rights against the DPRK was railroaded through the 60th UN General Assembly due to the pressure and the lobbying operation of the U. S. , Britain, Japan and other hostile forces. The resolution is peppered with lies and fabrications defaming the advantageous Korean-style socialist system centred on the popular masses.That was why it failed to get the approval of many member nations at the general assembly as it was a controversial one which clearly indicated the politicization of the human rights issue, selectivity and double standards 40 . In March 2012, a UN resolution about human rights in North Korea was passed by consensus. 38 39 Report of the Human Right s Council on its nineteenth session, unedited version HRW, UN Human Rights Council North Korea Condemnation Goes Unopposed , 23 March 2012 40 Korean Central News Agency 2005 10 Human rights in North KoreaDespite the efforts of the UN the Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur, the DPRK continues to be late in reporting to the treaty bodies or uncooperative with the special procedures 41 . There have, however, been some signs of cooperation with other UN bodies, including the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Childrens Fund, the World Health government activity and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In October 2011, the UNs Emergency Relief Coordinator visited the DPRK to assess the humanitarian situation 42 .In July 2012, a UN mission was granted access to the country to evaluate the damage caused by the floods. 43 In 2013, Special Rapporteur Darusman, is due to report to the Human Rights Council. North Korea will prepare its coterminous pe riodic review for the same time 44 . There are small signs that the country is beginning to cooperate with some UN bodies. 4. 2. ICNK The International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK), established in September 2011, is the first international coalition that brings together human rights organisations from around the world 45 .Some 40 organisations have joined the coalition. On April 2012 the ICNK submitted a petition to the special procedures of the United Nation Human Rights Council calling for the UN to help shut calibrate North Koreas vast gulag system. 46 Delegates of the ICNK met Members of the European Parliament and EU officials in Brussels on 7 June 2012 to persuade them to support the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea. 4. 3. Six-party talksThe six-party talks, which include China, the United States, North and South Korea, Japan and Russia, are aimed at ending North Koreas nuclear program throu gh a negotiating process. Although human rights are not one of the topics of discussion for the talks, the Special Rapporteur believes that progress in these negotiations will assist discussions on other issues, such as the human rights situation 47 . Six-party negotiations have not taken place since December 2008. 41 42Report of the Special Rapporteur 2012 Report of the Special Rapporteur 2012 43 UN to assess North Korea floods as more rain falls 44 Report of the Special Rapporteur 2012 45 The International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) 46 ICNK press relase, 3 April 2012 47 Report of the Special Rapporteur 2012 11 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies 4. 4. The EU and its Member States engage in regular political dialogue with North Korea, including through the UN. European Union The EU conducts regular political dialogues with the DPRK.The European Union established diplomatic relations with the DPRK in May 2001, and the maj ority of EU Member States have diplomatic relations with the DPRK. These contacts provide an opportunity to discuss human rights. The EU has also regularly elevated the issue of the North Korean human rights situation in discussions at UN bodies. Since 1995, the EU has been involved in various assistance programmes and cooperation activities with the DPRK. Since then, over EUR 366 million in aid has been provided in the form of food aid, medical, piddle and sanitation assistance and agricultural support 48 .The EU supports, however, the Special Rapporteurs call to rectify flaws in production, distribution and trading systems and to stop the misallocation of resources for military purposes 49 . A Country Strategy Paper was adopted in March 2002, but its implementation has been suspended. There are currently no plans for a new Country Strategy Paper or for development cooperation, although this remains open for the future 50 . As part of the interactive dialogue with the Special Rap porteur, the EU has encouraged the DPRKs new eadership to use its next universal periodic review in 2014 as an opportunity to enhance its dialogue with the international community and to provide undisclosed information of its criminal code, including subsequent revisions and addendums 51 . The EU is also involved in a number of assistance programmes. EEAS North Korea EEAS, HRC19 Interactive dialogues on Syria, Iran, Burma/Myanmar, North Korea , 12 March 2012 50 EEAS North Korea 51 EEAS, HRC19 Interactive dialogues on Syria, Iran, Burma/Myanmar, North Korea 49 48 12 Human rights in North Korea 4. . 1 European Parliament The European Parliament has adopted several resolutions on North Korea, the latest in May 2012 concerning the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees in China 52 . In July 2010, the Parliament called on the EU to appoint an EU special representative on the DPRK to ensure retentive attention and coordination 53 . Following the death of Kim Jong-il, Parliaments former President Jerzy Buzek issued a statement calling on the North Korean authorities to make concrete and tangible steps towards improving human rights conditions.He called on the authorities to allow inspection of all types of detention facilities by independent international experts and to allow UN Special Rapporteurs to visit the country. He also urged the country to engage constructively in human rights dialogues with the EU 54 . A public hearing organised by the Parliaments Subcommittee on Human Rights took place in May 2012 with the union of a former prisoner, the brother of a Japanese abductee and the US Special Envoy Robert King. 52European Parliament resolution of 24 May 2012 on the situation of North Korean refugees 53 European Parliament resolution of 8 July 2010 on North Korea 54 Buzek on the death of Kim Jong-il, 19 December 2011 13 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies 5. Annexes Figure 1 Map of North Korea Source United Nations Table 1 data Basic information on North Korea Population Capital Life expectancy 24 589 122 (July 2012 est. ) Pyongyang 66 years for men, 72 years for women (UN) 14