North Korea’s Dreadful Human Rights Record?
The Singapore Summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and American President Trump is an extremely positive step in defusing nuclear tensions globally. On 11th June 2018, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has declared “the only outcome that the US will accept” from the summit is the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
Mike Pompeo said he raised the issue of human rights with Kim and promised “it will be a part of the discussion going forward”. Yet, many commentators believe the issue of human rights in North Korea will be side-lined because of the focus on denuclearisation.
North Korea has remained a rogue state since the Korean war ended in 1953. The communist country, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has historically lived under economic and political sanctions implemented by the United Nations (UN), as well as being on the receiving end of US-ordered trade embargos. Because of the perceived threats to the country’s existence, the rulers of North Korea have syphoned the majority of national revenues into security and surveillance projects, which, in turn, has resulted in the suffering and suppression of the civilian population.
STATE DOMINANCE
In North Korea, the balance of power between the state and its citizens is extremely one-sided. The state controls everything, and proactively monitors its citizens using a nationwide surveillance system. Despite widespread shortages of food, fuel and other basic needs for civilians, the economy is managed by the government, which diverts the bulk of national income into nuclear and missile programmes.
Most North Korean citizens must engage in unpaid labour at some point throughout their lives. According to Human Rights Watch, students were forced by schools to undertake unpaid labour on farms twice a year. The majority of workers’ salaries are seized by the state, and are most likely directed into national defence programmes.
A system called Songbun is used as a social classification system assessing an individual’s ‘worth’. This caste system has 3 categories of classification for punishment of North Koreans. These are “loyal,” “wavering,” or “hostile,” and each classification is based on a family’s perceived loyalty to the state. Songbun was developed between 1957 and 1960, and has since been enforced to limit social mobility and ensure families born into poverty will never escape poverty.
DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY
State-run prison camps, otherwise known as gulags, are reportedly widespread throughout North Korea. The US State Department estimates that between 80,000 to 120,000 people are detained in these prison camps. A 2017 report by the International Bar Association documents frequent instances of crimes against humanity that occur in these political prisons, including systematic murder, torture, rape, forced abortions and starvation.
Detention of foreign nationals has also been a bone of contention between North Korea and the rest of the world.
Japan still demands the return of at least 13 Japanese citizens currently behind bars in North Korea. South Korea believes that 480 of its citizens are still being held in the North.
Between 1995 and 2015, 19 Americans were detained by North Korean authorities.
The last 3 US prisoners were released by Pyongyang in May 2018, one month before the beginning of the Singapore Summit. One American student, Otto Warmbier, died shortly after his return to the US. The post-mortem have since indicated that his death was a result of torture whilst in detention. Mr. Warmbier’s parents are currently suing the North Korean state over their son’s death.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, has called for a general amnesty of political prisoners.
THE RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIFE
The right to an adequate standard of life for many North Korean civilians is not guaranteed by the state. UNICEF has verified that 200,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition – 60,000 of which will become severely malnourished by the end of this year. Famines are historically common in North Korea, and as a result of food shortages in the 1990s, it is estimated that up to 3 million people died of starvation between 1994 to 1998.
The World Health Organisation has recorded widespread medical issues among North Korean citizens. WHO estimates that 11,000 children and 271,000 adults are affected by tuberculosis. The World Food Programme also found that 25.4% of children in nurseries continue to suffer from stunted growth. Food shortages in North Korea are causing unprecedented levels of suffering among poorer families and citizens. The “fundamental right to be free from hunger” is protected by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as is an adequate standard of life.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
In 2017, the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women warned that North Korea engages in discrimination, non-criminalisation of marital rape, trafficking, and sexual violence against women, among other concerns.
Although North Korea presents itself as a society with gender equality, women are reported to be deprived of employment opportunities, as well as educational opportunities.
Frequent reports emerge of women facing torture, rape and other sexual abuses while held in detention facilities, and of widespread sexual abuse throughout the North Korean military.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Freedom of thought and freedom to practice one’s religion are fundamental human rights that are not upheld in North Korea. Although the constitution promises a “right to faith”, a 2014 UN report stated that Christians and other religious groups, such as Buddhists and Shamanists, face persecution in North Korea.
Freedom of the press, and access to information, is virtually non-existent in North Korea. Reporters Without Borders ranked North Korea last out of 180 countries listed in the 2018 World Press Freedom index. Allegedly, citizens could be jailed for viewing content published by international media outlets. Overseas communication is also blocked for North Korean citizens.
Recently, over 300 nongovernmental organisations sent a letter to Kim Jong-un which demanded the North Korean leader undertake meaningful, long-term reforms that will end the critical human rights situation. The excesses of Kim Jong-un’s power must be kept in check under the new conditions laid out in the conclusion of the Singapore summit.