Link to article: North Korean defectors seek more U.N. monitoring of abuses | Reuters
North Korean defectors spoke at a UN event, exposing human rights violations in North Korea. They are advocating for a stronger UN mandate to investigate and document the violations. Diplomats say the UN Human Rights Council is considering a EU-led update to the landmark 2014 report on North Korea, that recorded crimes against humanity going on in the country. This investigation would be done with increased scrutiny. Kim, who escaped North Korea with his pregnant wife and father’s ashes by boat after 15 years of planning their escape. He said that the authorities harassed and confisticated his food, leaving him and his family to nearly starve after Covid restrictions were put in place. Kyu Li Kim, another escapee, fled by swimming across the Tumen River to China, and has expressed concerns that her sister will die after being deported to North Korea like her brother did. Her brother died in prison from starvation and severe punishment in 2003. North Korea denies the claims. Human Rights Watch says China has been reported to have deported 500 people to North Korea, and that they are at risk of execution or being put in forced labor camps. China says that there are no North Korean escapees in the country, and those who had entered illegally had been handled for economic reasons.
Kim and Kyu Li Kim’s testimony is unlikely to end North Korea’s crimes against humanity. Even with pressure from the UN and EU, North Korea has never faltered in the past, like when their crimes against humanity were revealed in 2014, and nothing has seemingly changed. The potential new mandate to investigate could shed light on North Korea’s abuses more, but it probably won’t change things, at least not majorly. With potential invasive investigations on the horizon, it’s only a matter of time before North Korea tries to shut them down on the basis of breaching sovereignty. And with their nuclear weapons, investigations could be dropped, or cause more controversy.
As we discussed in class, worldwide legislature has the critical flaw of not having any enforcement of their legislature. No matter what Kim Jong Un does, he can camp in North Korea to avoid potential prosecution from the UN, EU, etc. The only way to punish him would be to invade North Korea and arrest him (which would breach sovereignty, an act of war), for the North Korean people to surrender him, or for him to go to a country with a warrant for his arrest. North Korea’s nuclear weapons only complicate things, making diplomacy the only real option, as an invasion could incur a nuclear response.