UN Human Rights Review After 5 Years, North Korea UPR
Government Highlights Issue of 'Extreme Militarization' and Troop Deployment
North Korea States "No Camps in the Republic... Blames Hostile Forces"
The government has pointed out the issue of North Korean troops being dispatched to Russia during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations, which examines North Korea's human rights issues. This highlighted the fact that 'extreme militarization' adversely affects the human rights of the residents. However, North Korea thoroughly denied the criticisms regarding human rights issues.
The North Korean human rights organization PSCORE, in collaboration with the Lee Je-seok Advertising Research Institute, produced a public service poster protesting North Korea's human rights abuses and attached it to the iron gate of the North Korean mission in Geneva, Switzerland. The poster features North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un wearing a burial shroud, appearing trapped behind bars, along with the English phrase "ARREST ONE, SAVE MILLIONS," conveying the message that if one person is arrested, millions can be liberated. Provided by Lee Je-seok Advertising Research Institute.
Yoon Sung-deok, the head of the Korean delegation in Geneva, criticized during the North Korea UPR procedure held at the UN Geneva Office on the 7th (local time), stating, "North Korea suppresses the basic freedoms of its people, squanders scarce resources not on livelihoods but on illegal development of weapons of mass destruction, and even exploits labor." This is interpreted as a recommendation linking the 'extreme militarization' represented by the dispatch of North Korean troops to Russia to human rights issues. The troop dispatch itself was seen as a case of neglecting the impoverished lives of the residents and strengthening militarism, and a call for resolution was made.
The South Korean government delegation presented five recommendations including the troop dispatch issue: ▲ Immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, prisoners of war, and separated families ▲ Suspension of torture, inhumane treatment, and punishment of forcibly repatriated defectors ▲ Urging compliance with international human rights conventions ▲ Abolition of the so-called three major evil laws enacted for population control (Anti-Reactionary Thought and Culture Expulsion Law, Youth Education Guarantee Law, Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Law). Through written submissions, they also urged accession to the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and recommended compliance with already ratified international human rights treaties.
In addition, several member states pointed out that defectors forcibly repatriated to North Korea suffer severe human rights violations such as torture, abuse, and sexual violence in management centers (political prison camps) or reeducation camps (correctional facilities), demanding improvements.
Ambassador Cho Chol-su of the North Korean Mission in Geneva spoke as the North Korean representative at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on North Korea held at the United Nations Office at Geneva on the 7th (local time). Photo by Yonhap News
However, the North Korean side rebutted these claims with statements contradicting many victims' testimonies. Cho Cheol-su, the head of the North Korean delegation in Geneva, introduced Park Kwang-ho, director of the Central Court, who claimed, "There are no political prisoners or political prison camps in the Republic." Nevertheless, he added, "There are those who have committed evil deeds and were expelled, and 'human trash' who have betrayed the motherland to the point of attempting to overthrow it," stating, "They will never escape stern judgment."
Cho Cheol-su argued, "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea operates society based on the principle that the people's human rights come first," and "Despite this, provocative and anti-North Korean human rights offensives by hostile forces such as the United States pose a challenge to the protection of residents' human rights." Ri Kyung-hoon, head of the Legislative Department of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, responded to criticisms about resource consumption for nuclear development by calling it a legitimate strengthening of national defense against 'hostile forces' nuclear blackmail.'
Meanwhile, the North Korean human rights organization PSCORE, in collaboration with the advertising research institute Ije-seok, posted a poster on the iron gate of the North Korean delegation building in Geneva, Switzerland. The poster serves a public interest purpose to protest North Korea's human rights oppression and raise awareness of the situation. It features an image of State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un wearing a prison uniform trapped behind bars, along with the phrase, "Arrest one, Save millions."
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