Posted: 02/20/2014 at 10:04am | IP Logged

SURREY, ENGLAND (ANS) -- A human rights agency welcomes the report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on human rights in North Korea, and the inquiry's conclusion that the regime in North Korea is committing crimes against humanity.

'I hope the international community will be moved by the detail (in this report). Too many times in this building, there are reports and no action,' said Michael Kirby, chairman of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea, speaking at U.N. headquarters in Geneva. (Salvatore Di Nolfi / European Pressphoto Agency / February 17, 2014)

According to a news release from the agency, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) urges the UN Security Council to act on the inquiry's recommendation to refer the human rights crisis in North Korea to the International Criminal Court.

The Commission of Inquiry, established by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2013 and chaired by Australian Justice Michael Kirby, concludes that “the gravity, scale and nature” of the violations of human rights in North Korea “reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.”

A Reuters story reported that the findings came out of a year-long investigation involving public testimony by defectors, including former prison camp guards, at hearings in South Korea, Japan, Britain and the United States.

Reuters said defectors included Shin Dong-hyuk, who gave harrowing accounts of his life and escape from a prison camp. As a 13-year-old, he informed a prison guard of a plot by his mother and brother to escape and both were executed, according to a book on his life called “Escape from Camp 14.”

North Korea's diplomatic mission in Geneva dismissed the findings shortly before they were made public.

“We will continue to strongly respond to the end to any attempt of regime-change and pressure under the pretext of ‘human rights protection,’” it said a statement sent to Reuters.

The 400-page report details crimes against humanity including “extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.”

It concludes that such crimes against humanity are continuing “because the policies, institutions and patterns of impunity that lie at their heart remain in place.”

CSW said the inquiry also notes that “there is an almost complete denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, information and association.”

It concludes that the regime “considers the spread of Christianity a particularly severe threat.” As a result, “Christians are prohibited from practicing their religion and are persecuted.”

Severe punishments are inflicted on “people caught practicing Christianity.”

The report estimates that between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners are currently detained in four political prison camps, “where deliberate starvation has been used as a means of control and punishment.”

In its detailed recommendations, the Commission of Inquiry recommends targeted sanctions against the perpetrators of crimes against humanity, an extension of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in North Korea.

It also recommends the establishment of a UN-mandated structure and database “to help to ensure accountability for human rights violations” building on “the collection of evidence and documentation work of the commission.”

It also calls on China to respect the principle of non-refoulement and end its practice of forcibly repatriating North Korean refugees.

CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said in the release, “In 2007, CSW published a report, North Korea: A Case to Answer, A Call to Act, which recommended the establishment of an international inquiry with a view to referring a case to the International Criminal Court. Today, after seven years of sustained advocacy, that day has come.”

He added, “We pay tribute to the extraordinary work of Justice Michael Kirby and his two fellow commissioners, and we welcome the publication of what is without doubt the most comprehensive, detailed and authoritative documentation of North Korea's appalling human rights violations.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide works for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

For further information, visit www.csw.org.uk

Source: Assist News Service

Posted: 02/20/2014 at 10:05am | IP Logged

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- On 21 March 2013 the United Nations Human Rights Council passed Resolution A/HRC/RES/22/13 which established the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Resolution gave the Commission a 12-month mandate to investigate systematic and widespread human rights abuses in North Korea. North Korean Ambassador So Se Pyong denounced the Resolution as 'an instrument that serves the political purposes of the hostile forces in their attempt to discredit the image of the DPRK', adding, 'those human rights abuses mentioned in the resolution do not exist in our country.'

The Commission of Inquiry's report was released on 17 February. It documents 'a wide array of crimes against humanity' and details 'unspeakable atrocities' and concludes: 'The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.' As noted in the report: 'The State considers the spread of Christianity a particularly serious threat, since it challenges ideologically the official personality cult and provides a platform for social and political organisation and interaction outside the realm of the State. Apart from the few organised State-controlled churches, Christians are prohibited from practising their religion and are persecuted. People caught practising Christianity are subject to severe punishments . . . .' (Article 31)

The report also remarked on what is without a doubt the key dynamic of North Korea today: 'Strengthening market forces and advancements in information technology have allowed greater access to information from outside the country as information and media from the Republic of Korea and China increasingly enter the country. The State’s monopoly on information is therefore being challenged by the increasing flow of outside information into the country and the ensuing curiosity of the people for "truths" other than those provided by State propaganda. Authorities seek to preserve their monopoly on information by carrying out regular crackdowns and enforcing harsh punishments.' (Article 30)

Groomed to rule, Kim Jong-un assumed power after his father ('Dear Leader' Kim Jong-il) died in December 2011. At his father's funeral, Kim Jong-un accompanied his father's casket along with the 'Gang of Seven' -- an inner circle of elites tasked with guiding and mentoring the young ruler. By the end of 2013, four of the seven had been purged and one demoted. Kim Jong-un is consolidating power and establishing a new order that he hopes will have a better chance of holding on to power through the challenging times ahead. According to analysts, '. . . the upper ranks of North Korean leadership are now sprinkled with people who hold a known interest in [economic] reform.'

Kim, who did his secondary schooling in Switzerland, and his younger clique know that the information seeping in will generate anger and dissent as North Korea's impoverished masses become aware of their plight relative to the outside world. So in a race against time the regime is implementing agricultural and economic reforms designed to raise the living standards of ordinary Koreans. The regime is also easing the way for foreign investment and undertaking major infrastructure projects -- highways, theme parks and resorts -- designed to make North Korea more attractive to North Koreans as well as to Chinese tourists. It is a delicate balancing act, for Kim knows that while things have to change, change is incredibly risky.

For details see North Korea: Belligerence vs 'Smart Policy'
Religious Liberty Monitoring, 20 Feb 2014

It is commendable that the UN report is shining a spotlight on the horrific situation inside North Korea. However, the situation needs to be handled with great care and wisdom rather than belligerently. For example, if too much pressure is applied or if 'hostile forces' use the report to fan the flames of revolution for their own political, economic and geo-strategic ends, then repression could escalate to unprecedented levels or the state descend into a widespread bloodbath. Neither would benefit the Church in North Korea. Realistically, the report can only be used as leverage to get prisoners released and rights improved if the regime is assured it will not be threatened. When faced with such an unpalatable truth, it is essential to keep focused on North Korea's long-suffering Church which so desperately needs deliverance and freedom.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --

• hear the prayers and cries of his people and bring deliverance and freedom to his long-suffering Church in North Korea. (Isaiah 59:14-19)

'Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.' (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

LORD, IN YOUR MERCY: give wisdom to fools and patience to hot heads; repentance to persecutors and grace to victims; so that your Church might be spared further calamity and delivered from her adversity to rise as light to overcome darkness.

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' (Isaiah 55:8,9 ESV)

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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NORTH KOREA NEEDS WISE HANDLING

The UN's Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK [North Korea] released its report on 17 February. It documents a wide array of 'crimes against humanity', details 'unspeakable atrocities' and concludes: 'The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.' Tens of thousands of Christians struggle to survive in labour camps where they endure starvation, hard labour and unparalleled systematic cruelty. This report will expose the horrific situation inside North Korea. However, the risk is it could be unhelpfully politicised, causing repression to escalate or the country to descend into a bloodbath. Neither would benefit the Church in North Korea. Please pray for North Korea and its Church.

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