September 16, 2014 (RIA Novosti) – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) published a 50, 000-word report, stating that despite international criticism of the country’s political system, its citizens actually “enjoy genuine human rights and freedoms”, according to the Guardian.
The North Korean document, published by North Korea’s Association for Human Rights Studies, states that the popular masses enjoy genuine human rights, including the right to freely practice religion, participate in the country’s elections and most importantly, not to be subjected to torture and slavery. The report further states that the country’s economic system “ensures people an independent and creative working life, as well as affluent and civilized living standards”.
The document was released a few weeks ahead of a UN General Assembly meeting, during which the international community is likely to discuss the issue of North Korea. Previously, North Korea has been accused of wide-spread and consistent violations of human rights.
However, Kim Jong-un believes these international accusations are the product of a US-led conspiracy. The issue of human rights, according to the North Korean government, is an excuse the United States is using to interfere in the country’s internal affairs and eventually overthrow the government in Pyongyang, reports CNN. “In the confrontation between the DPRK and US, the US learned that it was impossible to overthrow the people-centered system by means of political and military threats and pressure as well as the economic blockade… What they found next was the human rights issue”, stated the North Korean government report.
During his latest speech, which he gave in Hawaii on August 18, North Korea’s Foreign Minister rejected accusations regarding his country’s human rights record, and reiterated that Pyongyang would not “tolerate any attempts to subvert its social system using human rights as an excuse”, China’s Xinhua News Agency reported.
Despite Kim Jong-un’s attempt to portray his regime in a positive light, international organizations claim that human rights abuses in the country remain as appalling as before. The UN Human Rights Commission published a report in February, stating that North Korean human rights abuses “resembled those of the Nazis”, as quoted by the Guardian. The UN report had gathered various information and evidence, including numerous testimonies from former victims and witnesses. Many dreadful and systematic human rights abuses were detailed in the document.
Following a UN report published in February, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a resolution that was designed to hold those who were responsible for human rights violations accountable for crimes against humanity in North Korea, the New York Times said. The resolution mentioned that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague would be the preferred option for investigating North Korea.
North Korea has ratified four key international human rights treaties and technically possesses a constitution that protects human rights. However, Western analysts, as reported in a HRW study, claim that the humanitarian situation has deteriorated since Kim Jong-un assumed power in 2011. The North Korean government began to crackdown on border guards, who sometimes turned a blind eye to people illegally crossing the North Korean-Chinese border in the country’s north. Their instructions were to shoot on sight, HRW reported.
The North Korean government represses all forms of freedom of expression and opinion. There is nothing that even closely resembles an organized political opposition, independent media, free trade unions, civil society organizations, or religious freedom, Amnesty International said. Those who attempt to stand up for their rights or fail to demonstrate their loyalty to the government in Pyongyang face arrests, detention, torture and death. In addition, the government applies a form of collective punishment to anti-state offenders, enslaving hundreds of thousands of its own citizens, including children, in prison camps, according to a 2014 report published by HRW.
North Korea refuses to cooperate with international human rights organizations, including the UN. Pyongyang has ignored all of the solutions on human rights that have been adopted by the UNHRC and the UN General Assembly. “Mind your own business”, said So Se-Pyong, North Korea’s Ambassador to the UN. “No person on earth would be so stupid as to keep the door open to a gangster who is attacking with a sword”, Se-Pyong added, as quoted by the New York Times.
The issue of human rights remains important around the world. The international community continues to accuse North Korea of the crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, the Korean government in Pyongyang is convinced that the issue of human rights is nothing more than a series of politically motivated provocations against their country.
