DPR Korea: Joint statement on human rights delivered by USA - Security Council Media Stakeout

Joint statement on the human rights situation in the DPRK on behalf of Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States, delivered by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations.

Delivering a joint statement on behalf of 29 Member States, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged all Security Council members to support an open briefing in 2023 to “discuss the human rights violations and abuses committed by the DPRK, the implications for peace and security and explore ways to incorporate human rights into the peace and security diplomacy in the Korean peninsula.”

The joint statement was issued by the following countries: Albania, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

Saturday (10 Dec) is the 74th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The US Ambassador told the reporters today (09 Dec) in New York that as the world celebrates and enjoys inalienable rights each year, it is important to call out those who provide them.

Ambassador Greenfield reads the statement, “the human rights violations and abuses of the DPRK’s repressive government are well documented by many reports. The DPRK’s totalitarian government holds more than 100,000 people in political prison camps where they suffer abuses including torture, forced labor, summary executions, starvation and gender-based violence. A UN Commission of Inquiry determined in 2014 that these violations about two crimes against humanity.”

She continued, “perpetrators need to be held accountable. Those not in political prison camps are refused fundamental human rights including the freedom of expression, information, and even freedom of thought. In particular, children and persons of vulnerable groups including women, and girls and persons with disabilities are systematically denied the fundamental rights and freedoms.”

The statement also said that these human rights are further restricted by the DPRK’s adoption of the law on rejecting reactionary ideology and culture in December of 2020. And these abuses have been exacerbated by the regime's implementation of measures supposedly in response to the COVID 19 pandemic, which reportedly included threats of execution for spreading misinformation.

Ambassador Greenfield continued, “citizens from other member States have also been subjected to human rights violations and abuses by the DPRK such as summary executions, assassinations, surveillance, intimidation, abductions, and forced repatriation, sometimes with the assistance of other governments.”

She explained, “in particular, we would like to express our concern with the human rights situation of citizens of the Republic of Korea detained in the DPRK, abductions and forced disappearances of Japanese and Republic of Korea citizens and other nationals who are kept against their will in the DPRK and unrepatriated prisoners of war.”

“We strongly urge the DPRK to resolve all outstanding issues with detainees, abductees and disappeared and immediately return them to their homes,” the US Ambassador said.

She continued, “the regime's ongoing human rights violations are inextricably linked with the country's unlawful and destabilizing weapons program,” adding that “the country's repressive political climate allows a perversive system of governance that diverts resources to weapons development, even as North Korean citizens suffer from severe economic hardship and malnutrition.”

Greenfield added, “forced Labor both domestically and overseas also plays a key role in sustaining the government and generating the revenue it uses to fund its weapons program. The modern world has no place for such brutality.”

She continued, “we commend and support all efforts to hold perpetrators accountable. These human rights violations threaten international peace and security, and it is time for the Council to address it publicly. We urge all Security Council members to support an open briefing in 2023, where we can discuss the human rights violations and abuses committed by the DPRK the implications for peace and security and explore ways to incorporate human rights into the peace and security diplomacy in the Korean peninsula.”