ID :
48173
Sat, 02/28/2009 - 08:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/48173
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(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Feb. 28) - 'Abysmal' rights
The U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights conditions around the world in 2008 highlighted the extent of human rights violations in North Korea.
The record of the communist state "remained abysmal," the report said. Reading
the report makes one wonder how the people of North Korea can have any hope for a
better future with conditions that crush the human spirit in every possible way.
The report noted that the regime exerts rigid control over many aspects of
citizen's lives. Reports continued of extrajudicial killings, disappearances,
arbitrary detention and political prisoners. Conditions in prisons were harsh and
life-threatening, and torture occurred, the report said.
North Koreans have no freedom of speech, press, assembly and association. The
government controls everything, restricting religious freedom, people's movements
and workers' rights.
A look at the subheadings in the report shows the dismal human rights conditions
in the North: "Arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of life," "torture and other
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment," "denial of fair public
trial" and "arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence"
are just a few examples.
In presenting the human rights report, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said that the promotion of human rights is essential to U.S. foreign policy.
North Korea stands warned that the United States will take up human rights issues
as part of any normalization of ties between the two.
Karen Stewart, principal assistant deputy secretary of state for human rights and
labor, stated it very clearly when she said that North Korea's human rights are
not a matter of priorities, but part of the overall normalization dialogue with
the North.
The Bush administration condemned human rights abuses in North Korea - Bush met
with former North Korean political prisoners during his tenure, bringing
international attention to the issue and also putting the North on notice that
the United States was concerned about human rights violations there.
It was also during Bush's tenure that the U.S. Congress passed North Korea human
rights legislation, allocating $24 million a year to aid refugees and allowing
them to settle in the United States.
Many North Korea human rights activists say that the human rights issue was
sidelined in the final years of the Bush administration as Washington sought to
get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
While the Obama administration's North Korea policy has yet to fully emerge, it
is certain that the human rights issue will have to be dealt with at some point.
And it is likely that the new administration will press for improvements in human
rights conditions in the North as part of the six-party talks, perhaps even more
vigorously than the Bush administration did in its final years.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
The record of the communist state "remained abysmal," the report said. Reading
the report makes one wonder how the people of North Korea can have any hope for a
better future with conditions that crush the human spirit in every possible way.
The report noted that the regime exerts rigid control over many aspects of
citizen's lives. Reports continued of extrajudicial killings, disappearances,
arbitrary detention and political prisoners. Conditions in prisons were harsh and
life-threatening, and torture occurred, the report said.
North Koreans have no freedom of speech, press, assembly and association. The
government controls everything, restricting religious freedom, people's movements
and workers' rights.
A look at the subheadings in the report shows the dismal human rights conditions
in the North: "Arbitrary and unlawful deprivation of life," "torture and other
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment," "denial of fair public
trial" and "arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence"
are just a few examples.
In presenting the human rights report, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said that the promotion of human rights is essential to U.S. foreign policy.
North Korea stands warned that the United States will take up human rights issues
as part of any normalization of ties between the two.
Karen Stewart, principal assistant deputy secretary of state for human rights and
labor, stated it very clearly when she said that North Korea's human rights are
not a matter of priorities, but part of the overall normalization dialogue with
the North.
The Bush administration condemned human rights abuses in North Korea - Bush met
with former North Korean political prisoners during his tenure, bringing
international attention to the issue and also putting the North on notice that
the United States was concerned about human rights violations there.
It was also during Bush's tenure that the U.S. Congress passed North Korea human
rights legislation, allocating $24 million a year to aid refugees and allowing
them to settle in the United States.
Many North Korea human rights activists say that the human rights issue was
sidelined in the final years of the Bush administration as Washington sought to
get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
While the Obama administration's North Korea policy has yet to fully emerge, it
is certain that the human rights issue will have to be dealt with at some point.
And it is likely that the new administration will press for improvements in human
rights conditions in the North as part of the six-party talks, perhaps even more
vigorously than the Bush administration did in its final years.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)
