UN office to press N. Korea on human rights
 |
| This
photo shows a sign for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Human Rights at the entrance of a building in Seoul's Jongno-gu, central
Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
The
new U.N. office in Seoul, which will exclusively investigate North
Korea's human rights violations, will facilitate the National Assembly
in passing pending bills to improve Pyongyang's dire human rights
record, according to experts, Tuesday.
They
said such legislative actions will effectively press the Kim Jong-un
regime harder and help in the U.N.'s ongoing fight to end the repressive
regime's crimes against humanity.
"The establishment of a U.N. presence in Seoul means the U.N. will put more pressure on North Korea," said Ko Yoo-hwan, a North Korean studies professor at Dongguk University.
"It also means South Korea will have a higher chance to enact a law to join the U.N.'s fight against Pyongyang."
An Chan-il, the head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies, agreed.
"The National Assembly has dragged on for years passing a bill on protecting Pyongyang's human rights," he said. "With the presence of the U.N. office, it will inevitably become more active and step up its efforts to help North Korean society."
Operated by U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the field office opened at the Seoul Global Center Building in Jongno, Tuesday.
OHCHR chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se joined in a ceremony to mark the establishment of the U.N.'s diplomatic mission. This is the first time that an OHCHR chief has visited South Korea since 2004.
Based in Geneva, the OHCHR has asked North Korea to stop its state-perpetrated violations of human rights in accordance with a report released by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) in February 2014.
The report accused the dictatorial regime of running political prison camps where up to 120,000 people are thought to be detained. It also asked the U.N. Security Council to refer North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.
Failing to narrow gaps between the rival parties, the National Assembly, however, has not passed a bill on Pyongyang's inhumane conditions after a related proposal was first made in August 2005. A total of 19 bills on North Korea's human rights have been proposed since then.
The ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy are at odds over whether to pass two pending bills that were submitted to the National Assembly in 2014.
Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the NPAD and Rep. Kim Young-woo of the Saenuri Party proposed each bill.
Kim's proposal is based on the one introduced in August 2005 by then main opposition lawmaker Kim Moon-soo and 28 other legislators.
The 2005 bill stipulated South Korea's responsibility in defending North Koreans' human rights under the Constitution.
It also called for the establishment of an archive on the reclusive state's deplorable human rights situation and punishment for those who are responsible when the two Koreas are unified.
The Woori party, a predecessor of the NPAD, opposed the idea at that time, saying it could provoke North Korea and freeze inter-Korean relations.
Shim is pushing to give political rights for North Koreans along with humanitarian aid in his bill.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) supported the U.N.'s investigation into Pyongyang's human rights violations, Radio Free Asia reported, Tuesday.
Based on the COI report, the EU and Japan proposed a resolution bill in September, which the U.N. General Assembly approved in December.
North Korea has denied accusations brought by the U.N. In response to the U.N. office in Seoul, North Korea has opted to boycott the Gwangju Summer Universiade slated for July 3-14.
광고
"The establishment of a U.N. presence in Seoul means the U.N. will put more pressure on North Korea," said Ko Yoo-hwan, a North Korean studies professor at Dongguk University.
"It also means South Korea will have a higher chance to enact a law to join the U.N.'s fight against Pyongyang."
An Chan-il, the head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies, agreed.
"The National Assembly has dragged on for years passing a bill on protecting Pyongyang's human rights," he said. "With the presence of the U.N. office, it will inevitably become more active and step up its efforts to help North Korean society."
Operated by U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the field office opened at the Seoul Global Center Building in Jongno, Tuesday.
OHCHR chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se joined in a ceremony to mark the establishment of the U.N.'s diplomatic mission. This is the first time that an OHCHR chief has visited South Korea since 2004.
Based in Geneva, the OHCHR has asked North Korea to stop its state-perpetrated violations of human rights in accordance with a report released by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) in February 2014.
The report accused the dictatorial regime of running political prison camps where up to 120,000 people are thought to be detained. It also asked the U.N. Security Council to refer North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.
Failing to narrow gaps between the rival parties, the National Assembly, however, has not passed a bill on Pyongyang's inhumane conditions after a related proposal was first made in August 2005. A total of 19 bills on North Korea's human rights have been proposed since then.
The ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy are at odds over whether to pass two pending bills that were submitted to the National Assembly in 2014.
Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the NPAD and Rep. Kim Young-woo of the Saenuri Party proposed each bill.
Kim's proposal is based on the one introduced in August 2005 by then main opposition lawmaker Kim Moon-soo and 28 other legislators.
The 2005 bill stipulated South Korea's responsibility in defending North Koreans' human rights under the Constitution.
It also called for the establishment of an archive on the reclusive state's deplorable human rights situation and punishment for those who are responsible when the two Koreas are unified.
The Woori party, a predecessor of the NPAD, opposed the idea at that time, saying it could provoke North Korea and freeze inter-Korean relations.
Shim is pushing to give political rights for North Koreans along with humanitarian aid in his bill.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) supported the U.N.'s investigation into Pyongyang's human rights violations, Radio Free Asia reported, Tuesday.
Based on the COI report, the EU and Japan proposed a resolution bill in September, which the U.N. General Assembly approved in December.
North Korea has denied accusations brought by the U.N. In response to the U.N. office in Seoul, North Korea has opted to boycott the Gwangju Summer Universiade slated for July 3-14.
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