Further brief from the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office provided to a Member of the Committee: DPRK human rights
DPRK HUMAN RIGHTS
BRIEF
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
has one of the worst human rights records in the world. Basic
freedoms are severely restricted, including the freedom of speech,
movement, assembly, and the media. Punishments for speaking out
against the regime are harsh and include imprisonment in labour
camps for several generations of the offender's family, torture,
and execution.
The DPRK normally responds to criticism by either
denying that abuses take place, claiming that the reports are
fabricated by the West for political reasons, or invoking sovereignty,
non-interference, and cultural differences to avoid its responsibilities.
The DPRK, as a member of the UN, has a duty
to promote and encourage respect for human rights. It is a party
to four key UN human rights treaties and has commitments under
these treaties. These include, notably, the International Convention
on Civil and Political Rights, which provides inter alia for freedom
of expression and association, of assembly, and of religion. These
commitments were made without reservation or qualification, but
there is no real evidence that the DPRK respects the concept and
principles contained in them.
In March 2008, the UN Human Rights Council passed
a resolution extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on
DPRK Human Rights, which condemned the DPRK's "widespread
and systematic" human rights abuses. Significantly, the Republic
of Korea voted for this resolution, the first time for two years
that it has not abstained on the subject of DPRK human rights.
This is a reflection of the new President Lee Myung-bak's election
promise to take a tougher line with the government in Pyongyang,
and was one of the catalysts for the chill in inter-Korean relations.
NORTH KOREANS
IN SOUTH
KOREA
Under the South Korean constitution, the whole
of the Korean Peninsula is South Korean territory. This means
that North Koreans have an automatic right to claim South Korean
citizenship. South Korea has set up a receiving centre for defectors
(known as New Settlers), and made provisions for them to receive
financial and educational support to integrate into South Korean
society. Despite this assistance, many New Settlers have difficulties
integrating and in finding work other than in minimum wage jobs.
There are procedures in place to ensure that
any North Koreans who cross directly into South Korea (usually
drifting across the maritime boundary by accident or design) are
asked individually whether they wish to defect or be returned.
South Korea's policy is to only return those that ask to go back.
It also actively assists those who defect via a third country—usually
China or Thailand—to get to South Korea. The policy of collective
punishment means that those who remain in the DPRK are often punished
when a relative defects. North Koreans who travel abroad officially—diplomats
for example—are generally required to leave a family member,
usually a child, behind in the DPRK.
HOW IS
CHINA DEALING
WITH DPRK REFUGEES?
The Chinese do not recognise emigrants from
DPRK as refugees, but as economic migrants. This means that they
do not have to apply the principle of non-refoulement, and can
return these individuals to the DPRK. It is illegal for DPRK citizens
to leave the country without permission, and those who are caught
or returned are often imprisoned, and sometimes tortured or executed.
The UK continues to urge China to observe its obligations under
the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, and allow the UN
High Commission for Refugees access to the China/DPRK border region.
This issue has been raised as part of the UK-China and EU-China
Human Rights Dialogues.
JAPANESE ABDUCTEES
In 2002 the DPRK confirmed Japan's long-held
suspicions and admitted abducting 13 Japanese citizens in the
1970s and 80s. Five abductees were subsequently returned to Japan
along with the supposed ashes of the other 8, who Pyongyang claimed
had died. Following forensic tests, Tokyo is not satisfied that
these were in fact the remains of the individuals in question.
It also maintains that there were more than 13 abductees (the
Japanese government has identified 17 individuals). After bilateral
discussions over the summer, the DPRK agreed to re-open the investigation
into the fate of the abductees in return for the lifting of some
Japanese sanctions. However, it then put the issue on hold again
following the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
Talks have not yet re-started under new Prime Minister Taro Aso.
T he UK sympathises with Japan's concerns, and hopes that further
progress can be made now that the new government is in place.
October 2008
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