In 2005, the international community continued to increase its efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. Many analysts and observers have given a variety of reasons for the deteriorating human rights situation in North Korea.
The Realities of Civil and Political Rights
Many new settlers have said that most North Koreans are unaware of the role lawyers play in the trial. In 2003, North Korea laid a legal foundation for the protection of persons with disabilities by passing the "Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities." The policy of protecting the disabled is apparently working.
The Realities of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
Colleges select students based on personal and family background and quality of Party loyalty. Since the 1990s, one's academic qualifications, parental power formation and wealth have been important considerations in addition to background and Party factors.
The Rights of Political Prisoners, Abductees and Defectors
There have been many reports of cases of forced marriage, prostitution and human trafficking involving North Korean women. The nature of the "human trafficking" of North Korean women has changed over the years.
Overall Evaluation
1 . The Unique Characteristics of the System and Human Rights
Maintaining a Socialist System
The most important feature of the Kim Il-sung/Kim Jong-il ruling structure would be the emphasis on the supremacy of the country and the concentration of power in its supreme leader and his worship. Above all, the Kim Jong-il regime continues to blatantly violate human rights, including staging executions and maintaining political concentration camps, while conducting purges against elements opposed to Kim Jong-il.
Experimenting with a New Economic Policy
North Korea has officially admitted that a total of 220,000 people have died of starvation. For this reason, the measures have had only an insignificant and temporary impact on the North Korean economy as a whole.
The Suspicion of Nuclear Development
- Recent Changes in North K orea’s Human Rights Policy A. Salient Characteristics of its Human Rights Policy
- The North K orean Human Rights and International Community
So it is to some extent understandable that North Korea will emphasize the right to autonomy (independence). But as a signatory to the International Charter of Human Rights, it is wrong for North Korea to deny this.
G rowing Pressure on North K orea to Improve Human Rights
The South Korean government believes that human rights should be promoted as a universal value, and it has expressed concern about the human rights situation in North Korea. The South Korean government has also focused on a realistic policy to improve human rights in North Korea.
North K orea’s Ambivalent Reactions
- Prospects
On the other hand, North Korea has selectively improved its relations with various UN human rights bodies. Once North Korea is convinced of the friendly international atmosphere, it will probably remain that way.
1 . The Right to Life
The Right to Life and North K orean Laws on Death Penalty Capital Punishment in North K orea
As a signatory of Covenant-B (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), North Korea has an obligation to fulfill the terms of the covenant. North Korea has thus responded in some way to international criticism of the political nature of its death penalty provisions.
Public Executions
- Do not steal grains!
- Do not engage in grain-selling activities!
- Do not ever cheat or waste grains!
- The Freedom of Individual Liberty A. Illegal Confinement and Torture
55Testimony of a new settler (from Kilju County, North Hamkyong Province) during an interview at KINU on 2 May 2001. 56Testimony of a new settler (from Chongjin City, North Hamkyong Province) during an interview at KINU on 2 May 2001 2001.
Detention/Correctional Facilities and Human Rights Prison facilities in North Korea are divided into a two-tier system
- The Right to Due Process of the Law
After revising its penal code in 2004, North Korea introduced "labor training" as a new type of punishment. But according to the testimonies of new settlers who were imprisoned in work training centers, the "location" described in the Criminal Code must refer to "assembly points" and "work training centers". One hundred and sixty-five of the 245 articles contained in the North Korean Penal Code mention punishment through labor training. In any case, violators of the law were now sentenced to "labor training" sentences and sent to.
86North Korea is throwing the recently increasing number of juvenile delinquents into the "labor training camps" installed in every country and city.
Human Rights and the North K orean Penal Code Responding to international criticism concerned about the
Human Rights and the North Korean Criminal Code In response to international criticism of the. The North Korean Criminal Code (Penal Code) is structured primarily based on political and class (personal status) considerations. The scope of anti-state crimes, as defined in the 1987 Criminal Code, is still retained in the 2004 Criminal Code.
North Korea's penal code previously stipulated that the legal provisions in force at the time a crime was committed must be applied.
The Unfair Trial Procedures
In terms of organizational hierarchy, the North Korean courts operate under the direction of the Supreme People's Assembly. Article 162 of the North Korean Constitution states: “The Central Court shall be responsible to the SPA Presidency when the SPA is in recess.” New settler Yoon XX, who previously worked at the agency, testified that if a provincial security agency discovered a political crime, it would report it to the National Security Agency's prosecution office.
But, in light of the fact that "social education" is a type of punishment, the relationship with the court is unclear.
The Right to an Attorney
- The Right to Equality
Article 158 of the Constitution stipulates: "Court cases are public and the accused is guaranteed the right of defence. Hearings may be closed to the public, as provided by law." Article 106 of the Criminal Procedure Act also states: "In criminal matters, the suspect is guaranteed the right to a lawyer." And Article 327 specifically illustrates the necessary procedures. And he is responsible for proving the seriousness of the crime and analyzing the motives and causes of the crime so that the suspect deeply repents of his crime before the people and the country.” In this regard, the lawyer is not an agent working for the suspect's rights.
In the political arena, everyone has the right to moral conduct and personal security.
Social Discrimination Based on Family Background
- Civil Liberties
Generally, members of the hostile class are restricted to hard and dangerous manual work. In this regard, there are some articles related to guilt by association in policies. This law provides comprehensive protection for disabled people in the field of rehabilitation, employment and education.
Middle schools must include special education for the disabled as part of the regular curriculum.
Freedom of Residence, Movement and Travel
In its Second Human Rights Report submitted in 2001, North Korea stated that all citizens wishing to travel must obtain travel certificates in accordance with Article 6 of the Travel Regulations. North Korea still has "travel restrictions" in special areas, along with the "travel permit" system. North Korea explained that the number of denials was due to the lack of approval from the destination countries.
In its concluding observations, the UN Human Rights Committee strongly urged North Korea to consider abolishing its domestic travel permit system.
Freedom of Speech and Press
Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to the extent that it helps the masses to participate even more strongly in the construction of socialism. All news stories are written with the express purpose of embedding the supremacy of the North Korean system into people's consciousness. Ultimately, publications must devote themselves to the worship of Kim Il-sung and the systematization of a unified ideology.
Publications have promoted the creation of the Kim Il-sung/Kim Jong-il legacy and encouraged participation.
Freedom of Association and Assembly
In its second report, North Korea argued that there are no specific laws regarding the organization of political parties because the existing party was formed before the birth of the Republic. With regard to human rights organizations, North Korea insists that the government support the establishment of organizations that aim to promote human rights. During the second review session of the report, members of the UN Human Rights Committee demanded an explanation as to why they were unable to obtain any information from non-governmental organizations in North Korea.
The UN Human Rights Committee demanded in its closing observations that North Korea provide additional information on the requirements for holding public meetings, even as the North Koreans reported that freedom of assembly and association was fully guaranteed.
Right to Privacy
- The Freedom of Religion
- The Right of Political Participation
- The Right of Women
The right to privacy described in North Korea is quite different from that in the West. North Korea took advantage of the anti-American sentiment after the Korean War and began to persecute religions. 205Kim Byung-ro, “Changes in North Korea's Policy on Religion and the Reality of Religion” (Seoul: KINU, 2002), p.
Elections in North Korea are not part of the political process, where different political forces freely fight on the basis of ideas and policies.
Equality of Man and Woman and Women’s Social Participation
In the report, North Korea insisted: "During its long history, North Korea has abolished all discrimination against women. In the report, North Korea said: "To improve the social status of women, the government has increased. 245 These were the figures given by the North Korean delegation to the UNHRC during the review process of North Korea's second report on the implementation of Human Rights Convention A in Nov.
Considering that more than 65 percent of all office workers in the government and elsewhere are men, the exploitation of women's labor in North Korea is extremely serious.
Women’s Status and Role at Home
Contrary to their claims, however, emphasis was placed on women's traditional role in the family. This change in the status of women is also reflected in the North Korean constitution. The state must provide all conditions for them to progress in society." Here, the clause.
Contrary to the official North Korean position on this issue, it is reported that the belief in the superiority of men is still strong among the inhabitants of North Korea.
Sex Violence
Human Rights Watch reported in 2005 and 2006 that a number of humanitarian organizations in China had raised numerous complaints regarding the trafficking of North Korean women in China. In the past, North Korean women have been sexually abused in the workplace, where a superior or party official would woo a woman with promises of promotion or party membership. 248Kim Tae-hyon and Noh Chi-young, Life of North Korean defectors in China (Seoul: Hawoo Pub. 2003).
Family violence is another serious form of sexual assault against North Korean women, especially the practice of wife beating by North Korean husbands.
Deteriorating Health
As a member of society, everyone has the right to social security and is entitled to exercise it. In addition, Article 1, Section 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (hereinafter “Covenant A”) states: “All peoples have the right to self-determination. Article 11, Section 1 of Covenant A reads: "States parties to this Covenant recognize everyone's right to an adequate
The right to life is an essential prerequisite for the protection and respect of fundamental human rights.
1 . The Right to Food
In the 1990s, the North Korean ration system largely collapsed and became inoperative in most regions, except in Pyongyang. When the central rationing system stopped working in the wake of the food shortages, most North Koreans began to rely on marketplaces for their daily commodities, including food and grain. In the wake of the economic management improvement measures of July 2002, there was a major change in North Korea's grain supply system.
262Amnesty International, “Starving Rights: Human Rights and the Food Crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea),” pp.
