[MB’s laws] North Korean Human Rights Acts

Posted on : 2008-12-18 13:56 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
 a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party
a lawmaker from the main opposition Democratic Party

Editor’s note: The ruling Grand National Party says it is going to pass controversial legislation on its own, with the backing of President Lee Myung-bak, and the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, says it will boycott the extraordinary National Assembly session. On the occasion of a Cold War shaping up among legislators, The Hankyoreh decided to take a close look at the bills up for consideration. Today, we look at two bills on human rights in North Korea.

There are two bills on human rights in North Korea submitted by the ruling Grand National Party to the National Assembly: the North Korean Human Rights Act and the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Act, proposed by lawmakers Hwang Woo-yea and Hwang Jin-ha, respectively. The two bills are said to be aimed at setting up the institutional mechanisms necessary for ensuring the survival of North Korean citizens and improving the situation of human rights in the North. Provisions such as the appointment of a special envoy for human rights in North Korea, support for related private organizations and the collection and analysis of information about the actual situation of human rights in the North are included in both bills. Both bills also require the Unification Minister to draw up measures for the free distribution of information about North Korea to that country’s citizens.

Frequently asked questions about the proposed bills can be found below.

Is it really necessary to monitor the human rights situation in North Korea?

Though human rights should be universal, it is always necessary to consider which “universe” is being discussed. Until the world can agree on a set of parameters for “universality,” deeds of coercion and oppression can be carried out in its name. History shows that pressure exerted in the name of human rights have helped those in power to increase their control over society. Many say that if the National Assembly passes the bills on human rights in North Korea, inter-Korean relations will return to the state they were in during the Cold War era.

Will the bills allow North Korean people to enjoy basic human rights?

North Korean citizens should be guaranteed basic social and economic rights. Under the North Korean Human Rights Act, however, the South Korean government would be required to link humanitarian aid to improvements in human rights in North Korea. Similarly, the North Korean Human Rights Promotion Act sets an international monitoring standard as a condition for the provision of humanitarian aid to the North. Instead of putting so much emphasis on the connection between humanitarian aid and improvement in the human rights situation, it would be better for the South Korean government to take gradual steps to improve the transparency of aid distribution and guarantee North Korean residents the basic right to survive by providing humanitarian aid to the North.

Are government agencies responsible for the promotion of human rights in North Korea effective?

One of the bills would require the South Korean government to provide 25 billion won (US$19 million) to private organizations that help North Koreans defect and/or protect North Korean defectors, raising concerns that the South Korean government is launching a coordinated effort to encourage defections. In addition, the government’s plan to support campaigns to send leaflets denouncing the North Korean government to North Korea by balloon was seen as legally justifying the sending of the balloons. If the bills are passed, it is inappropriate to make the unification minister responsible for delivering and distributing intelligence on North Korea because he is also responsible for holding talks with North Korea.

Although the laws would make National Human Rights Commission of Korea conduct a fact-finding survey about human rights in North Korea by establishing an archive center for the collection of records on the North’s human rights situation, the commission itself said, “We will not survey activities in North Korea because the North makes it difficult for the (South Korean) government to exercise its right to do so.”

There should have been a social and political consensus on how to improve the human rights situation in North Korea before the bills were submitted, but this process was skipped.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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