[Editorial] To address human rights, improve inter-Korean relations

Posted on : 2015-06-24 17:55 KST Modified on : 2015-06-24 17:55 KST
 June 23. Second from the right is UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. (by Lee Jong-geun
June 23. Second from the right is UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. (by Lee Jong-geun

The United Nations opened a North Korea human rights office in Seoul on June 23. It’s the institution’s first local office for examining the North Korean human right situation and developing measures to improve it. As predicted, North Korea has been up in arms over the opening. It’s a sign that the goal of promoting human rights in the country will not be easily met.

The government in Pyongyang recently said that it would “regard the insistence on establishing a human rights office in Seoul as an overt declaration of war” and threatened to “use all means and methods available to mercilessly punish it.” It also cited the office’s opening as one of its reasons for not participating in the Gwangju Summer Universiade athletic event next month.

This attitude looks likely to deepen the gulf between North Korea and the international community. The opening of the office is a follow-up measure to a Feb. 2014 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which concluded from a yearlong study that crimes against humanity were taking place in the North. Human rights are a universal value, and Pyongyang needs to reason that the international pressure is only going to grow the more it denies its human rights problems.

It’s also important how the international community chooses the address the human rights issue. Brute force will only increase the chances of conflict, and could make the human rights situation worse for people in North Korea. Thought must also be given to developing the kind of framework for human rights dialogue that even North Korean authorities would feel obliged to agree to. More than anything, we need to make the power holders in Pyongyang feel secure that discussing the human rights issue is not the same thing as attacking the regime. In truth, quite a few people do seem to believe that the human rights issue will not be resolved without a regime change. But the past has shown time and time again that emphasizing the regime issue is not an effective way to get results in terms of human rights.

A new approach is also needed in inter-Korean relations. Pyongyang is certain to take issue with the presence of a human rights office in Seoul, especially when relations are as strained as they are now. All the more reason, then, to work to improve them. The most effective way of resolving the human rights issue would be for South and North to promote exchange and cooperation so that governments on both sides can go about improving quality of life in the North. In other words, improvements in inter-Korean relations need to go hand-in-hand with improvements in North Korean human rights. It’s also way of reducing tensions and creating a solid footing for addressing the North Korean nuclear and missile programs and other issues of security and politics.

The North Korean human rights issue is a double-edged sword. When inter-Korean relations are good, it can lead to substantive improvements in the rights of North Koreans; when they’re bad, it can be a cause of new conflict. Getting inter-Korean relations out of their strained state is more important than anything the human rights office can do.

 

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

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Most viewed articles