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Issue, Client, Location , Background, literature perspectives, Options, Recommendations
Introduction (To government agency or NGO)
Statement of issue – ( e.g. environment, development, human rights)
Background – portrayal of country
Literature Review (geography, economics, politics, history, or anthropology)
Policy Options
Recommendations
Conclusion
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MEMORANDUM
TO: United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights
FROM: National Human Rights Commision of Korea; Haochuan Tang
DATE: 20/04/2020
SUBJECT: North Korean Human Rights
Introduction and Statement of Issue
I am writing to the United Nations High Commission for human rights as an outcry to the state of human rights abuse in North Korea. The basic human rights principles are being shadowed by the leaders of the country, making it something only the privileged can enjoy. Human rights degradation is mostly faced by detainees. They are denied basic rights like the right to food, face torture and unlawful executions. Members of the nation also suffer from issue like discrimination, unlawful arrests and no freedom to speech. Many countries have managed to get away with human rights infringement while others manage to hide their oppression well. It is our responsibility as outside countries to have transnational influence on the respect of human rights.
The United Nations has been bestowed upon many responsibilities and one of the major ones is its preservation of Human Rights. The United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights Commission (OHCHR) as a body solely focuses on maintenance of human rights in the world. OHCHR has intervened on many human right cases in the world among its member countries. However, there are some cases, such as the open cases in North Korea, which seem to fly by the radar and go unnoticed. The UN should pick up this case to help achieve peace and stability.
Issue of Human Rights
Human rights are moral principles and normal standards of living. With the delicate nature of human rights, it is important that they are respected. Some of the basic yet fundamental human rights are freedom of thought, expression and speech, democracy rights, social security rights and social assembly. All these are in the UNs universal declaration of rights. Universal human rights are decreed on basis on basic things that any human is deprived off, whether one or a group of them could lead to misery. It is completely wrong to purposely deprive people from their rights, but unfortunately in some countries this is the case. The people in power in North Korea do not allow people to exercise some rights by making them against the law or de facto.
Therefore, it is important that the right intervention is made in North Korea. A nation’s business is its own, but if the citizens of the nation are oppressed to a point of misery and their fights and cries are not heard from within; outside influence should try. The universal standards of rights are applicable in every country and we should ensure that it is respected in all states. As the world we should not watch people of a country be oppressed, whether it directly affects us or not. By not intervening, other tyrants may grow as they expect minimum to no friction. Intervention is important to help those in need and also discourage the disregard of human rights as a whole.
Background of Country
North Korea is a small country in East Asia. It is officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It has a population of about 25 million people. In 2014, the United Nations made a report claiming that the human rights degradation levels is too large and cannot be matched by any country in the world. North Korea has many times denied those allegations, but it is quite visible as to what they do (Goedde, 2018, P.178). Since independence in 1956, there has been a strict method of ruling where citizens pay the most.
Figure 1. Map of North Korea
Internet Source.
Their leadership is passed through family. The current leader is Kim Jong-Un who has been in chair since 2011. His is a young leader and is worldly renowned for being an extremist in his actions. He has severally gone against treaties in the world such as the nuclear treaty which forbids the testing against nuclear weapons. His failure to listen to world leaders shows his unwillingness to listen to the pleas of his citizens. He himself pioneers the human rights degradation and all in power follow suit. To them, that is the best way of leadership (Buzo, 2017, 83).
Literature Review and Issues
Benjamin Haas and Daniel Hurst (2018) outline the situation of human rights in North Korea. The two talk on the perspective of a former soldier. They narrate how it was hard for them being paraded just to see the execution of people regarded to as “enemies of the state.” These brutal executions did not sit well in their minds as they saw men suffer for petty reasons. North Korea also has the largest number of political prisoners in the world, a whopping 120,000 people. This shows the sad state of affairs in terms of human rights in the country.
Figure 2. Image of labor camps and Political prisons in North Korea
https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-education-of-kim-jong-un/
Backlash against human rights is rampant (Vinjamuri et al., 2017, P.114). This backlash is defined as a problem mainly linked to authoritarian states or states in transition. This could be true in the case of North Korea in which the supreme leaders have been a father and son affair. Moreover, this disregard of human rights became more rampant in transition as the rule of Kim Jong-Un began. The backlash can be attributed to leaders having too much power or absolute ignorance from the outside world to help a nation from a tyranny. An international governing body should be in charge of ensuring this backlash is eradicated, in which the UN has the best qualifications. (Vinjamuri et al., 2017, P.114)
The leaders in North Korea play a big role in degrading human rights. Adrian Buzo in his book speaks of the “gorilla dynasty” and how their leadership has led to misuse of power subsequently degradation of human rights (Buzo, 2017, p25). The fact that leadership has been passed down in the country, the supreme leaders have no sense of democracy. They believe that they are always right and their word is final. There is insecurity that people will try to steal their seat and, therefore, a lot of arrests in the name of treason are made. Free speech is limited just to reduce the risks of an uprising.
Many North Korea nationals cannot enjoy basic freedoms due to the stringent laws in place in the country. Their laws are mostly de facto, and for anyone who seems to do contrary to these laws and expectations will be deemed and enemy of the state and imprisoned (Dukalskis, 2017, P.18). North Korea citizens live stiffly in fear of the power of their leaders and there is nothing much they can do. They are not allowed to speak up against any harsh treatments and are expected to see it as discipline that will make them a great nation. However, their way of living doesn’t at all make them feel great.
Attempts to fight this tyranny has been very unsuccessful. The North Korean People’s liberation is a group, formed in 2010, that has unsuccessfully tried and hoped to liberate the country. This is a group of defectors who have escaped the country, and want to cross back and get arms in hope of overthrowing the government. About 300,000 people since 1953 have escaped North Korea into the South, China and Russia. This is a small number, with present numbers being few. However, the potential civil war in the country is what that should be feared and prevented at all costs.(Haas & Hurst, 2018)
Policy Options
Intervention by outside countries and the United Nations will prove very helpful. The tension rises every year as more people defect and more people die. The rights of the people should be fended for by outside influence, since it has failed from the inside. The world should not just watch as North Koreans suffer from the grasp of puny leadership. All United Nations member states should be made to follow the standard basic human rights documents in their country. If there are any omissions, then the leader should ensure it is in place and the perpetrators arraigned.
Democracy in the country can lead to a decline in the abuse of power. It should be made that elections be done in all member states. The flow of power will ensure that no one is too powerful to the point that they can dictate the human rights of their citizens. Kim Jong-Un and his family have ruled North Korea since their independence, giving them an extreme sense of power (Dukalskis, 2017, P.12). This makes the leader act as he pleases, not minding the rights of his people. He employs strict laws having citizens live by a leash.
Recommendations
The leaders of the country should be summoned and a proper solution sought. The OHCHR should organize formal meetings with the leaders of the country to explain as to why there is an outcry in their leadership and suggest to them how things could be made better. This will also include telling them the reason and benefit of upholding human rights of the citizens and the repercussions of failure. It is high time that the United Nations intervenes and has a sit down with one of the leaders of North Korea. The first goal of the meeting should be to have an understanding and find the solution to the problem.
Non-compliance should be tried and tested in Hague. The act of human rights degradation should be identified to them as an offence to the United Nations and it should be made clear that non-compliance can lead to their arrest and trial at Hague (Vinjamuri et al., 2017, P.123). The International Criminal Court should exercise its power to capture and try all the people involved in the degradation of human rights in North Korea. This will act as an example to future leaders and other leaders in the world. The chains binding the citizens of Korea should be cut free.
Conclusion
The situation in North Korea is well known to many people in the world. Their infamous leader Kim Jong-Un openly mistreats the citizens of his nation. It is intriguing that the United Nations hasn’t made any major moves to stop this, despite knowing the situation. Various scholars who have firsthand experienced the difficult life in North Korea have given their accounts. It is important that a solution to the problem is finally found, so as to help the citizens live a free spirited life in a free country.
Works Cited
Buzo, Adrian. Politics and leadership in North Korea: the guerilla dynasty. Routledge, 2017. Routledge.
Dukalskis, Alexander. The authoritarian public sphere: Legitimation and autocratic power in North Korea, Burma, and China. Routledge, 2017.
Vinjamuri, Leslie, Stephen Hopgood, and Jack Snyder. “Human Rights Backlash.” Human Rights Futures (2017): 114-34.
Goedde, Patricia. “Human Rights Diffusion in North Korea: The Impact of Transnational Legal Mobilization.” Asian Journal of Law and Society 5, no. 1 (2018): 175-203.
Haas Benjamin and Hurst Daniel “Beatings, killings, gulags:north korea rights abuses likely to be ignored at summit” the guardian, June 2018. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/07/beatings-killings-gulags-north-korea-rights-abuses-likely-to-be-ignored-at-summit