[USFK Forums] Commission to Disclose View on North Korean Human Rights [Korea Times]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Friday, March 17, 2006

Commission to Disclose View on North Korean Human Rights

The Korea Times, Thursday, March 16, 2006By Kim Cheong-won, Staff Reporter

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is expected to deliver its official opinion on North Korea’s human rights issues to the government next month.

According to a report by the Dong-A Ilbo Thursday, a decision-making committee of the state human rights panel agreed last December to express its official opinion about North Korea’s human rights.

Eight of 10 committee members, except for the panel president Cho Young-hwang, reached the agreement, the paper reported.

It said one committee member suggested the panel announce its plan not only to the South Korean government but also to neighboring governments such as North Korea, China, and international organizations including the United Nations.

Before the meeting, committee members defined the status of North Koreans by saying that ``North Koreans are foreigners as well as brothers and have a special legal status which is equivalent to quasi-foreigners.’’

Experts said that the definition of North Korean residents paved the way for the panel to express opinions about North Korean human rights issues.

The state human rights panel has discussed the human rights issues in three stages _ to define the status of North Korean residents, to decide whom the panel should express its opinions to, and decide how and what to say about the issue. The panel is currently discussing the third stage.

It is reported that the tentative third stage plan contains a view that the South Korean government should cooperate actively with other governments to determine where North Korean defectors are staying. The panel hopes the South and North Korean governments will map out necessary steps to prevent the cause of North Korean defectors.

However, it is expected the panel will be blamed for not expressing opinions on critical issues such as holding some political prisoners, and freedom of speech and the press in the Stalinist country.

``The committee is now putting the final touches on the plan, and all committee members are expected to adopt it next month at the earliest,’’ a panel official said, adding that the committee is considering whether to choose the form as an opinion or as a recommendation.

If the government doesn’t want to follow the panel’s `recommendation,’ then it should explain its reason for rejection in writing.

The government doesn’t have to take any follow-up measures if the panel gives an `opinion.’

The panel originally planned to give its opinion on human rights issues at the end of last year, but it couldn’t come to a final conclusion as there were some different opinions among the members.

As many as 300,000 North Koreans have reportedly fled their country, with most defecting to neighboring China.

Despite international pressure, China continues to label North Korean defectors as illegal migrants and deports them back to the North where they face severe punishment, including the threat of public execution.

South Korea has been the No. 1 destination for North Korean defectors, with 1,219 defecting to the to the South as of the end of November just last year, according to government officials.

More than 7,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.



kcw@koreatimes.co.kr

03-16-2006 18:15