UN Human Rights Council Meeting... North Korean Human Rights Groups Urge Government to Demand Repatriation of Detained North Koreans

Kang In-seon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs II, Scheduled for Keynote Speech

Kang In-seon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, is attending the Korea-US High-Level Economic Consultative Meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 31st of last month, waiting for a meeting with Jose Fernandez, US Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Deputy Foreign Minister Kang In-seon is scheduled to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 27th (local time) to appeal for attention to North Korean human rights issues. North Korean human rights organizations have emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should urge the immediate resolution of issues concerning South Korean prisoners of war, abductees, and detainees in their keynote speeches and other remarks.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 26th, Deputy Minister Kang will deliver a keynote speech at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council high-level meeting held from the 26th to the 28th of this month. The UN Human Rights Council usually holds three regular sessions annually, with a session for speeches by high-ranking officials from various countries taking place during the first session starting at the end of February.

The Human Rights Council, one of the UN's standing committees, regularly reviews the human rights situations of member states and formulates improvement measures. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the release of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report on North Korea, making it important to draw international attention and cooperation on North Korean human rights issues.

North Korean human rights organizations such as the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, North Korea Justice United, and the Transitional Justice Working Group emphasized in a statement that Deputy Minister Kang should urge North Korea to immediately repatriate six individuals confirmed to be long-term detainees, including missionaries Kim Jeong-wook, Kim Guk-gi, and Choi Chun-gil, in his keynote speech.

They expressed concern to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about China's recent resumption of forced repatriation of North Korean refugees and requested that China and other countries adhere to the principle of non-refoulement under the Refugee Convention and Protocol, as well as the Convention Against Torture, and ensure safe passage to third countries such as South Korea.

Additionally, they requested that during this Human Rights Council session, Deputy Minister Kang engage in dialogues with Special Rapporteurs Elizabeth Salm?n, Nazila Ghanea (Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief), and Alice Edwards (Special Rapporteur on torture), actively raising issues regarding the detention of missionary Kim Jeong-wook and the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees.

They stated, "Among the UN Human Rights Council events, we ask that the South Korean government invite families of South Korean prisoners of war, abductees, detainees, or North Korean defectors as speakers to the North Korean human rights side events it hosts, so that the voices of victims can be heard by the international community, and to strengthen appeals for resolving the issues of South Korean prisoners of war, abductees, detainees, and China's forced repatriation of North Korean refugees."