Report to include personal information about North Korean human rights abusers
Seoul (AsiaNews) - The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) will publish a case book on human rights violations in North Korea, including information on the alleged perpetrators, which the organization hopes will make it easier for those who abuse human rights now to be prosecuted later in a unified Korea.
The report, which will be released on 3 May, details 60 out of 800 cases of human rights abuses accepted by the NHRCK, ranging from violations of religious freedom (including the mass slaughter of members of the clergy in the early years of the regime) to seizing land and food as poverty and hunger increase in the country.
The NHRCK started accepting depositions in March last year, including those of 278 individuals with experience of detention in four of North Korea's most secret political prison camps: Bukchang, Hoiryeong, Kaecheon and Yodok.
"The very biggest meaning of this report is that it lists the perpetrators of human rights abuses," Kim Tae Hoon, chairman of the special NHRCK committee tasked with overseeing issues of North Korean human rights, told Daily NK today.
"Bearing in mind the sensitivity of the matter we do not expect to make public the real names of the perpetrators," Kim explained. Nevertheless, "this report will provide legal evidence allowing us to punish them after unification."
"This publication," he insisted, "sends a tacit warning to North Korea's human rights violators, deterring them from actions that violate human rights."
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