| As
the UN Commission on Human Rights discusses the human
rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea (North Korea), Amnesty International today
expressed its concerns about continuing serious human
rights violations in the country and the lack of effective
action to reduce widespread malnutrition among the
population.
Amnesty
International's long-standing concerns about human
rights violations in North Korea include the use of
torture and the death penalty, arbitrary detention
and imprisonment, inhumane prison conditions and the
near-total suppression of fundamental freedoms, including
freedom of expression and movement. While these concerns
are long-standing, in recent years many human rights
abuses in North Korea have been linked directly or
indirectly to the famine and acute food shortages
which have affected the country since the mid-1990s.
These have led to widespread malnutrition among the
population and to the movement of hundreds of thousands
of people in search of food - some across the border
with China - many of whom have become the victims
of human rights violations as a result of their search
for food and survival.
In
this context, Amnesty International believes that
guaranteeing equitable distribution of food to all
without discrimination is a key priority which the
North Korean government must address urgently, in
line with its international obligations, with appropriate
assistance from the international community.The government
must also introduce other measures to immediately
put an end to other serious human rights abuses, such
as torture and summary and arbitrary executions.
Freedom from hunger and malnutrition
North
Korea continues to rely on international aid to feed
its population, but many people in the country are
suffering from hunger and malnutrition. According
to a study published last year by the Food and Agricultural
Organization, 13 million people in North Korea --
over half of the population -- suffered from malnutrition.
Aid agencies have estimated that up to two million
people have died since the mid-1990s as a result of
acute food shortages caused by natural disasters and
economic mismanagement. Several million children suffer
from chronic malnutrition, impairing their physical
and mental development. Many people in the country
also lack adequate medical care due to lack of medical
personnel and supplies.
Freedom
from hunger and malnutrition is one of the most fundamental
rights enshrined in the International Bill of Human
Rights. The right to food is guaranteed under the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR), to which North Korea is a State Party.
The provision of food where humanitarian assistance
is needed is both a joint and individual responsibility.
The expert Committee set up to monitor the Covenant
has concluded that all State Parties, individually
and through international cooperation, are under an
obligation to ensure "an equitable distribution
of world food supplies in relation to need".
North
Korea must ensure that international food aid and
other food supplies are distributed equitably to all
among its population, without discrimination. If its
population is in need of food supplies it cannot provide,
the government must seek outside assistance, and must
refrain from using food as a negotiating issue. Foreign
states able to help must also provide the necessary
food aid, without tying this to particular political
goals. Food should never be used as an instrument
of political and economic pressure. There must be
no embargoes on food.
Restrictions on access
There
is little detailed information on the extent of human
rights violations in North Korea due to the restrictions
on access to the country for independent human rights
monitors. Information and access to the country remain
tightly controlled, hampering the investigation of
the human rights situation on the ground. However,
reports from a variety of sources suggest a pattern
of serious human rights violations, such as those
described below.
Executions
Amnesty
International has received reports of public executions
carried out at places where large crowds gather, with
advance notice given to schools, enterprises and farms.
Some prisoners have reportedly been executed in front
of their families. Executions are carried out by hanging
or firing-squad.
Freedom of expression
Opposition
of any kind is not tolerated. According to reports,
any person who expresses an opinion contrary to the
position of the ruling party faces severe punishment,
and so do their family in many cases. The domestic
news media is strictly censored and access to international
media broadcasts is restricted. Any unauthorized assembly
or association is regarded as a "collective disturbance",
liable to punishment. Religious freedom, although
guaranteed by the constitution, is in practice sharply
curtailed. There are reports of severe repression
of people involved in public and private religious
activities, through imprisonment, torture and executions.
Many Christians are reportedly being held in labour
camps.
Torture and ill-treatment
Reports
from a variety of sources suggest that torture and
ill-treatment are widespread in prisons and labour
camps, as well as in detention centers where North
Koreans who have been forcibly returned from China
are held for interrogation pending transfer to other
places. Conditions in prisons and labour camps are
reported to be extremely harsh. Inmates are made to
work from early morning till late at night in farms
or factories, and minor infractions of rules can be
met with severe beatings. According to some reports,
however, more deaths are caused by lack of food, harsh
conditions and lack of medical care than by torture
or ill-treatment.
Returned asylum seekers
Many
North Koreans continue to cross the border into China.
Some sought asylum in diplomatic compounds and foreign
schools in China and were allowed to leave, travelling
to South Korea via third countries. Hundreds of others
were reportedly apprehended in north east China and
forcibly returned to North Korea. Those forcibly returned
are held for interrogation in detention centers or
police stations operated by North Korean security
agencies. Depending on who they are and the result
of interrogation, they may be sent back to their home
province, or to labour camps for up to six months.
A few, particularly former officials or returnees
found with religious literature, are assigned long
terms of imprisonment with hard labour or in some
cases face execution. Those sent back to their home
province are ostracized within their community and
subjected to surveillance. Many flee the country again.
Some have fled and been returned several times, reportedly
facing increasingly severe punishments with each failed
escape attempt.
Recommendations
Amnesty
International has repeatedly called on the North Korean
government to take measures to increase respect for
human rights in the country, including to:
- ensure the right to freedom from hunger and malnutrition
to every North Korean citizen without discrimination
- abide by the principles laid out in the international
human rights treaties it has ratified (such as the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights) and incorporate these principles
into domestic law;
- abolish the death penalty;
- release all people detained or imprisoned for the
peaceful exercise of fundamental human rights;
- guarantee freedom of expression and freedom of movement
for all North Koreans;
- review existing legislation to ensure it conforms
with international human rights standards and introduce
safeguards to provide citizens with protections and
remedies against human rights violations;
- invite the UN human rights mechanisms to visit North
Korea;
- grant free access to independent human rights monitors.
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