North Korea flagrantly disregarding international human and religious rights standards – report

A new report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide has condemned North Korea’s ongoing repression of civil and religious liberties.

The report, titled ‘North Korea: We cannot look away’, was published to mark the 10th anniversary of a landmark report by the UN Commission of Inquiry into extensive human rights violations in the hermit communist country.

The UN report condemned the “gravity, scale and nature” of human rights abuses being committed in the country and said at the time that North Korea “does not have any parallel in the contemporary world”.

In its anniversary report, CSW said that 10 years on, Christianity is especially targeted in the ongoing suppression of beliefs, although those who express an opinion challenging the Kim regime can also face severe punishment.

“No steps” have been taken by the Kim regime to uphold international human rights standards, CSW said, adding that the human rights situation in North Korea remains virtually unchanged and may even have deteriorated as a result of a number of factors including the pandemic and the forced repatriation of North Korean refugees from China.

Penalties for expressing opinions or beliefs deemed to challenge the Kim regime include torture, detention in political prison camps, or even execution. North Koreans suspected of using religious materials, including the Bible, can expect the same fate.

The report draws on interviews with six North Korean escapees and 17 experts on the country, and was launched in Seoul, South Korea.

CSW’s CEO Scot Bower said that a decade on from the UN’s landmark report, the Kim regime “remains committed to being a pariah on the international stage and acting with hostility towards global standards for human rights”.

“We hope that this report generates further conversation and innovative thinking among researchers, policymakers, civil society and funders on how to address one of the worst human rights and humanitarian crises in the world,” he said.

“Our vision remains one of a North Korea in which everyone is free to exercise their rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of religion or belief, and today we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that this vision becomes a reality.”

In a new UN report into human rights abuses in North Korea, UN Secretary-General António Guterres says that North Korea and its leaders must be held to account.

The repression of freedom of thought and expression increased significantly between July 2023 to May 2024, and the regime has been cracking down on “reactionary” content, according to the report.

“Given the inaction of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, it is imperative that accountability be pursued elsewhere. The General Assembly … called upon the Security Council and Member States to take further steps to ensure criminal accountability, including through referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court,” said Guterres.

Timothy Cho, a North Korean who escaped the country and now works for the religious persecution charity Open Doors, said, “It’s only right that the people who have consigned hundreds of thousands to prison and starvation should answer for their crimes.

“However, with China, and now Russia standing with the North Korean regime, it’s only a distant dream.”

Open Doors coordinator for ministry among North Koreans, Simon Lee (name changed for security reasons), said that North Korea’s Law on Rejecting Reactionary Thought and Culture has not only targeted South Korean culture and foreign news, but also Christians and religious material including the Bible.

Although the official text does not mention Christianity or religion, it speaks of “superstitious materials”.

“Every North Korean knows what is meant with that phrase,” he said.

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