Lee Sinhwa, North Korea Human Rights Ambassador, Condemns 'North Korean Human Rights Violations'

First Attendance at UN General Assembly Human Rights Meeting
International Community Must Make Every Effort to End North Korea Human Rights Violations

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Lee Sinhwa, North Korean Human Rights International Cooperation Ambassador, stated regarding North Korean human rights issues that “the international community must make every effort to end human rights violations and abuses in North Korea.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 26th (local time), Ambassador Lee spoke at an interactive dialogue with Elizabeth Salmon, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, held at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA, expressing regret over “the incident in September 2020 in the West Sea where an unarmed South Korean civilian was killed by North Korean soldiers.”

The deceased, Lee Dae-jun, a public official belonging to the Fisheries Management Unit of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, went missing while conducting fishery guidance activities near Soyeonpyeongdo in the West Sea and was later found shot dead by North Korean soldiers in the waters off Gangryeong County, Hwanghae Namdo Province.

Attending the meeting in person at the UN Headquarters in New York, Ambassador Lee urged North Korea to disclose all relevant information and prevent recurrence of similar incidents, pointing out that “abductions, enforced disappearances, and prisoners of war remain serious concerns and issues requiring immediate response.”

Professor of Political Science and Diplomacy at Korea University, Ambassador Lee attended a UN human rights-related meeting for the first time since his appointment as North Korean Human Rights International Cooperation Ambassador in July.

He also called on North Korea to respond positively to proposals for reunions of separated families.

Furthermore, he requested that the Security Council resume discussions on North Korea’s human rights situation, as it did from 2015 to 2017.

Ambassador Lee pointed out, “While North Korea continues to develop its nuclear and missile programs despite the international community’s efforts to persuade denuclearization, the brutal human rights violations and abuses in North Korea have been sidelined, and in the meantime, the comprehensive human rights situation, especially for vulnerable groups such as women and girls, has worsened,” urging global leaders to address this issue.

Additionally, Elizabeth Salmon, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, emphasized that North Korea must bear legal responsibility for serious human rights violations.

At the 77th session of the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York, Rapporteur Salmon stated, “Considering the current situation where no one is held accountable for human rights violations, including crimes against humanity by North Korea, we will pursue effective measures to secure truth and justice for the victims.”

She added, “We will pursue all possible means such as universal jurisdiction and domestic courts,” emphasizing, “We will continue to support the Security Council referring this situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN General Assembly establishing a special tribunal.”

The UN General Assembly has passed North Korean human rights resolutions urging the Security Council to refer North Korea’s human rights situation to the ICC for 17 consecutive years until last year.

Meanwhile, Hwang Jun-guk, South Korea’s Ambassador to the UN, invited Rapporteur Salmon, Ambassador Lee, and key related country UN ambassadors to his residence the previous evening to rekindle international attention on North Korean human rights at the UN and other international forums and to discuss North Korean human rights discussions at the Security Council and beyond.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.