The Report
A scathing report is out that blasts North Korea for crimes against humanity on a scale not seen since the last days of World War II.
In it, North Korea has been accused of a range of crimes, ranging from exterminations to an extensive system of detention camps, withholding access to food based on political motivations, forced abortions, rape and other sexual violence, and slavery. In one particularly gruesome case, a woman was actually forced to drown her own baby.
This, according to one BBC article, ("World must act on North Korea rights abuse, says UN report" February 17, 2014: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26220304 ):
The "gravity, scale and nature" of the allegations "reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world", it says.
The report says that in North Korea:
-there is "an almost complete denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion" in North Korea
-"entrenched patterns of discrimination", rooted in the state-assigned class system, affect every part of life
-discrimination against women is "pervasive in all aspects of society"
-the state "has used food as a means of control over the population" and deliberately blocked aid for ideological reasons, causing the deaths of "hundreds of thousands" of people
-"hundreds of thousands of political prisoners" have died in "unspeakable atrocities" in prison camps in the past 50 years
-security forces "systematically employ violence and punishments that amount to gross human rights violations in order to create a climate of fear"
The report is obviously damning, and the allegations serious. Yet, they prominent officials who need to be taken seriously seem to be validating the legitimacy of the claims:
"John Everard, a former UK ambassador to North Korea between 2006 and 2008 and who later worked for the UN on implementing sanctions against Pyongyang, told Newsnight there were direct parallels between North Korea and Nazi Germany." ("North Korea like Nazi Germany, says former ambassador" published by BBC Asia, February 17, 2014: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26236255)
And this:
"The COI report detailed murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence in North Korea, which chairman Michael Kirby said carried echoes of the Nazi Holocaust." (Source: "North Korea atrocities exposed, but what next?" By Jung Ha-Won, February 17, 2014: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/north-korea-atrocities-exposed-next-040245539.html)
Lavish Luxuries In Midst Of Depravity And Suffering
According to a Reuters article: ("North Korea: Luxury amid crimes against humanity, UN says" by Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters / February 17, 2014: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0217/North-Korea-Luxury-amid-crimes-against-humanity-UN-says)
North Korea "continues allocating a significant amount of the state's resources for the purchase and importation of luxury goods", the report said.
Such imports are in violation of Security Council sanctions and have included high-quality cognac and whiskey and equipment for a 1,000 person cinema, it said. There have been attempts to import Mercedes-Benz vehicles, high-end musical recording equipment and dozens of pianos, it said.
"Luxury good expenditure by the DPRK rose to $645.8 million in 2012. Reportedly, this was a sharp increase from the average of $300 million a year under Kim Jong-il," it said, citing a British newspaper report in October 2013.
North Korean authorities also engage in legal and illegal activities to earn foreign currency, channelling it into "parallel funds" outside of the regular state budget, it said.
"They are kept a the personal disposal of the Supreme Leader and used to cover personal expenses of the Supreme Leader, his family and other elites surrounding him, as well as other politically sensitive expenditures," it said.
How Real Are The Claims On This Report?
Of course, North Korea is denying the legitimacy of the reports. But they are also not exactly inviting anyone in to investigate the matter further, one way or another.
Still, this is the first time that such an extensive and damning report has been issued.
North Korea claims that the report amounts to a bunch of hype, claims by a hostile western media of massive abuses within the country that are greatly exaggerated, if not outright false. Some have warned that the western media, and particularly the United States and Great Britain, should straighten out their own house before pointing fingers at the seemingly rogue regime of Pyong Yang.
One thing that appears to be absent in this report is definitive proof. These are essentially statements from victims, and in one case, a perpetrator, regarding these abuses. But lacking are photographic images, or other proofs that would eliminate doubt and skepticism.
When crimes against humanity were found in Germany, it was as the nation was on it's knees, and hardly in a position to seriously hide evidence. But foreigners, including journalists, are hardly welcome in North Korea, and the regime is not crumbling, as the Nazi regime was when invaded by nations on two fronts in it's final days, with extermination camps and other atrocities found by opposing forces. North Korea, for all of the threats it has leveled at the west (particularly the United States), is not at war, let alone in the process of being occupied. Until it allows people from the outside in to investigate (and this it does not appear to be on the verge of doing), serious doubts will remain as to the seriousness of the report. And that poses it's own problems.
What Will The United Nations Do Now?
The report presents a moral quandary for the world community, as it demands action. As such, it puts the United Nations in a difficult situation. Already criticized by many for being weak and ineffectual in attempts to stop violence in many previous cases, from Nigeria in the sixties, Cambodia in the seventies, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in the nineties, and in Darfur, Syria, and now the Central African Republic in the 21st century, the United Nations now has perhaps the most extensive documented evidence of massive crimes against humanity orchestrated by a state during it's existence. The question is, what exactly will the world governing body do about it?
While many blast the UN for being weak and unable to change such matters for the better, many feel the organization is too involved and controlling. This might prove to be the biggest test for the United Nations in it's history, and exactly what will be done in the wake of this report will be hotly debated in many circles now in the weeks and the months (and possibly years) to come.
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un may be personally held accountable, and the world community may try to bring him up on charges in the world court of "crimes against humanity". But it would be obviously very difficult to actually get a hold of him and hold him accountable without any support within North Korea itself.
Yet, many are saying that urgent action is necessary and required.
Here is one quote from the chairman of the independent Commission of Inquiry ("World must act on North Korea rights abuse, says UN report" February 17, 2014: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26220304 ):
"At the end of the Second World War so many people said 'if only we had known... if only we had known the wrongs that were done in the countries of the hostile forces'," said Michael Kirby, chairman of the independent Commission of Inquiry.
"Well, now the international community does know... There will be no excusing of failure of action because we didn't know," he said, at a news conference at UN headquarters in Geneva.
China's Role
China has also been blasted for supporting North Korea, and by extension, enabling Pyong Yang to engage in these kinds of activities. Despite North Korea's isolation as a de facto perriah state in the world community, China remains it's one strong ally and trading partner.
But so far, China has denied the accuracy of this report, and also questioned how greatly exaggerated it is, and seems to be suggesting if these reports of crimes on a massive scale are being used for propaganda purposes. It has rejected this reports, and claims of it's own support in these abuses, out of hand, and claims that the sudden pressure put upon it's traditional support of Pyong Yang is "unreasonable criticism".
Here are the links that I used in writing this particular blog entry:
Links providing access to the actual report online, so that you can read and judge it for yourself:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/ReportoftheCommissionofInquiryDPRK.aspx
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Media.aspx
http://www.cfr.org/north-korea/report-un-commission-inquiry-human-rights-democratic-peoples-republic-korea/p32393
Online Articles:
"World must act on North Korea rights abuse, says UN report" February 17, 2014:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26220304
"North Korea atrocities exposed, but what next?" By Jung Ha-Won, February 17, 2014:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/north-korea-atrocities-exposed-next-040245539.html
"North Korea: Luxury amid crimes against humanity, UN says" by Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters / February 17, 2014:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0217/North-Korea-Luxury-amid-crimes-against-humanity-UN-says
"North Korea like Nazi Germany, says former ambassador" published by BBC Asia, February 17, 2014:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26236255
"North Korea human rights abuses resemble those of the Nazis, says UN inquiry" by Peter Walker of The Guardian, February 17, 2014:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/14/un-accuse-north-korea-crimes-against-humanity
China's Response to Report on Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea:
"China rejects 'unfair criticism' in UN North Korea report" published by BBC, February 18, 2014:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26242278
I found this to be a particularly informative and valuable article on the matter: "China pushes back on UN report slamming North Korean rights abuses" by Arthur Bright of the Christian Science Monitor, February 18, 2014:
http://news.yahoo.com/china-pushes-back-un-report-slamming-north-korean-140159160.html;_ylt=A0LEVxV3wANTLRoAsohXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0OGxtNWtwBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1NNRTQyMV8x
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