The United Nations Commission on Inquiry this week released its findings on human rights violations in North Korea and, in a letter to Kim Jung-un, it informed him that it was advising the United Nations to refer his country to the International Criminal Court at The Hague. Cited were violations that included systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities.
Kim Jung-un and fawning military officers. (KNS AFP/Getty Images)
As expected, North Korea rejected the accusations revealed in the 372-page report, saying they were based on material faked by hostile forces backed by the United States, the European Union and Japan. The chairman of the commission, Michael Kirby, said he hoped the findings would “galvanize action on the part of the international community.”
The commission also informed China, long an ally of North Korea, that it may be guilty of “aiding and abetting crimes against humanity” by sending migrants and defectors back to North Korea to face torture or execution. China will undoubtedly veto any attempt to refer North Korean leaders to The Hague. So don’t hold your breath.
Consider too the snail’s pace of the investigation. The UN has been condemning North Korea’s human rights record annually since 2003. Following an October 2008 draft resolution presented to the general assembly, a Special Rapporteur was appointed to review violations. In March 2011 a resolution expressing “very serious concern” over violations was issued. Finally, in March of 2013, the commission was established.
Keeping an eye on human rights around the world was one of the purposes outlined in the establishment of the UN in 1945, however the organization has shown little influence or muscle in resolving these issues.
Yet Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, remains hopeful the inquiry will finally focus attention on the inhumane activities of the country, where the primary interest has been on the nuclear threat.
The response from our State Department was less than emphatic as the official statement reads, “We look forward to thoroughly reading the report, and discussing its recommendations with our partners, who share our deep concern about the human rights situation in North Korea.” Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to pay more than a fifth of the UN budget.
The UN has been condemning the North Korean dictatorship for 11 years and we’re really no closer to stopping the crimes there.
Where’s the outrage?
