North Korea: "one of the worst abusers of human rights in the world" [Update]

Der US-Senat bestätigte am vergangenen Freitag Robert King als neuen US-Sondergesandten für die Menschenrechte in Nordkorea.

"Speaking at a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, he defined North Korea as "one of the worst abusers of human rights in the world." He pledged to protect the human rights of the North Koreans, pay attention to South Korean prisoners of war in the North and Japanese abducted to the North, and address China's deportation of North Korean defectors." Choson Ilbo

Die Rede, welche Robert King vor dem US-Senat hielt, lässt sich hier als PDF nachlesen.

"State security forces commit severe human rights abuses and political prisoners are subject to brutality and torture. Elections are not free or fair; the judiciary is not independent; and citizens are denied freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association. In addition, severe restrictions are imposed on freedom of religion and freedom of movement. Finally, we hear continuous and widespread reports of severe punishment for repatriated asylum seekers and trafficking of women and girls across the border into China."

via OneFreeKorea

Update:

• Daily NK - UN Passes North Korean Human Rights Resolution

• OneFreeKorea - U.N. General Assembly Condemns North Korea for “Systemic, Widespread, and Grave” of Human Rights Violations

"In the resolution, “Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the North Korean government inevitably receives heavy criticism for, overall, the “persistence of continuing reports of systematic, widespread and grave violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights” in the country.

The resolution goes on to list torture, the absence of due process in law, use of the death penalty, collective punishment, strict restrictions on freedom of movement, thought, conscience, religion, opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, the right to privacy and equal access to information, the treatment of returned refugees, violations of economic, social and cultural rights, human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, children and the disabled among others as areas of serious concern, before also criticizing the North Korean government’s ongoing refusal to accept the mandate of the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the North Korean human rights situation or to solve issues related to abductions."