[USFK Forums] World forum calls for end to N. K. human rights abuses [Korea Herald]

[C. Y. Lee]

[Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Saturday, December 10, 2005]

World forum calls for end to N.K. human rights abuses

The Korea Herald, Saturday, December 10, 2005 10:02

Participants at the international forum on North Korea`s human rights issues in Seoul yesterday united their voices in a joint declaration asking North Korea to end its human rights abuses and seek lasting peace in the region.

On the other side of the city, progressive activists such as Hanchongryun - the largest alliance of university students - planned a rally in the afternoon to condemn the event which they claimed was "political maneuvering" reflecting Washington`s hostile policy towards the North.

Top diplomats from the United States were among the most outspoken participants at the conference that opened on Thursday at the Shilla Hotel in downtown Seoul gathering together some 700 activists and North Korean defectors.

The forum, named "Seoul Summit: Promoting Human Rights in North Korea," is to end today.

"We do not threaten the peace by challenging the status quo. Indeed, failing to follow this path and take steps towards liberalization is a far greater risk to the long-term security and economic prosperity in the region," said Jay Lefkowitz, a newly appointed U.S. special envoy to North Korea`s human rights issues.

The participants, both during their discussion and in their declaration, criticized the South Korean government for its passive stance towards the North`s human rights issues.

"We ask the South Korean government to have a genuine interest in the human rights condition of North Korea. It should be the South Korean government which must show the most sincerity for the human rights conditions of their Northern brethren," the declaration signed by the participants at the end of the session said.

The South Korean government has been taking a passive approach to increasing international calls for North Korea to end its human rights violations saying the sensitive matter that could destabilize on-going inter-Korean exchanges and nuclear negotiations.

Korea abstained from voting last month on a resolution that expresses concern about the human rights situation in North Korea at a United Nations General Assembly meeting.

North Korea claims the international call against its human rights issue is a scheme led by the United States to depose its regime.

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow argued it was now time to take actions against the human rights problem in the North. The newly appointed ambassador who caused controversy earlier this week by labeling North Korea a "criminal regime" reaffirmed that Washington has no hidden agenda in highlighting the human rights issue.

"We want the North Korean regime to abide by obligations under the U.N. charter. We want DPRK to change its policy," said Vershbow. DPRK is the official North Korean title short for the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea.

Yoo Se-hee, co-president of a South Korean civic organization Citizens United for a Better Society, contended that the government`s current policy towards the North was the "stumbling block" against improving the human rights situation in the hermit state.

Explaining that such a policy was being handed down from the former Kim Dae-jung government to the incumbent Roh Moo-hyun administration, Yoo said, "The government`s policy towards the North is something that is shunning the human rights of North Korea."

The forum was held throughout the day with diverse figures participating including Uri Party Rep. Chung Eui-yong, Grand National Party Rep. Kim Moon-soo, Freedom House Deputy Executive Director Thomas Melia, French Committee to Help North Korean Population President Pierre Riguoulot and North Korean Returnees Aid Association President Hidenori Skanaka.

The declaration signed by the participants comprised an eight-articled agreed framework that listed ways for the North Korean government to enhance its human rights situation.

Among the demands were for the communist regime to stop retaliating against escapees, dismantle concentration camps, acknowledge and repatriate South Koreans and Japanese who were abducted by the North and to provide health care for the children.

The declaration also sought for more enthusiastic engagement from the South Korean government and agreed to meet every year around Dec. 10 - International Human Rights Day - to hold an international campaign. The participants said they will be launching an international network to accomplish such objectives.

(angiely@heraldm.com) By Lee Joo-hee