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Why North Korean Human Rights Concern International Community: 3 Key Reasons It Matters – Part 3

Daniel Kim Views  

United States: A Country Sincerely Focused on Promoting Basic Human Rights and Information Inflow in North Korea

The U.S. government began to take a keen interest in North Korean human rights in the 1990s. This was a time when North Korea was undergoing the March of Suffering, a period of economic crisis and severe famine that led to a massive defection crisis, exposing the reality within North Korea to the international community. The fact that the United Nations Human Rights Commission adopted its first resolution on North Korean human rights in 2003, making the issue a formal agenda of the Commission, also impacted the U.S. significantly.

△ Picture of North Korean residents expanding their farmland (ⓒrfa)

The United States enacted the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004, which has two main features: Promoting fundamental human rights, i.e., focusing on improving the fundamental rights based on the life of North Korean residents and emphasizing efforts to increase North Korean residents’ access to external information. The policy tools include support for human rights and democracy programs by organizations and individuals, radio broadcasts to North Korea, humanitarian aid, support for North Korean defectors, and promotion of refugee applications.

Unlike the European Union, which focuses on direct interaction and communication with North Korea, the United States, as a party to the Armistice Agreement, is addressing North Korean human rights issues through the promotion of fundamental human rights and support for civil society and organizations.

Japan: North Korean Human Rights Issues Tied to Abducted Japanese Citizens

In Japan, the North Korean Human Rights Act was promoted by the Liberal Democratic Party in 2005 and passed in 2006. The official name of the Japanese North Korean Human Rights Act enacted then was the Act on Handling of Abduction Issues and Other Human Rights Issues Related to North Korean Authorities. The Japanese government draws a strong line, stating that the abduction issue is a serious matter concerning the lives and safety of Japanese citizens and that it cannot restore normal relations with North Korea without resolving this issue.

△ Interview picture of a Japanese abductee who returned home on the occasion of the North Korea-Japan summit in 2002 (ⓒVOA)

Comparing the North Korean Human Rights Act of Japan with that of the United States, the U.S. North Korean Human Rights Act defines the targets as North Korean citizens or North Korean nationals. In contrast, Japan does not represent North Korean residents. The U.S. covers not only issues occurring within North Korea but also the protection and support of people outside North Korea, including North Korean defectors; however, the scope is not specified in Japan’s North Korean Human Rights Act.

For these reasons, it’s hard to deny that Japan’s North Korean Human Rights Act prioritizes Japanese abductees as the main stakeholders. However, it’s not fair to view Japan’s contribution to North Korean human rights issues negatively just because of this. The issue of North Korean abductees is treated very seriously in Japanese domestic politics, so it inevitably influences Japan’s North Korean human rights policy.

The Issue of North Korean Human Rights We Need to Address Together with the International Community

As we have addressed today, not only our country but also the international community has been wrestling with the issue of North Korean human rights for a long time. Each country has different issues to consider depending on their situation. However, I think we all share the hope that the issue of North Korean human rights will be resolved urgently. Nevertheless, it makes us wonder if there could be various and creative approaches to the practical improvement of North Korean human rights as we reconsider the multiple tasks left to us.

So, the following article will be about Looking at North Korean Human Rights Part 2_Project to Solve North Korean Local Social Issues Created Together by Youth of South and North Korea. Can the youth of South and North Korea provide some clues to the issue of North Korean human rights that we have raised? Then, let’s meet with hope in the following article!

To Read Part 1…
To Read Part 2…

Daniel Kim
content@viewusglobal.com

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