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Democratic People's Republic of Korea Give North Koreans food By Kay Seok Published in International Herald Tribune On Monday, Kim Jong Il of North Korea and South Korean President Roh Mu-hyun will hold a three-day meeting in Pyongyang. It will be only the second North-South summit - Kim Jong Il met Roh's predecessor, Kim Dae-jung, in 2000. September 27, 2007 Commentary Printer friendly version Value Oriented Diplomacy: Expectations for Japan on Human Rights This May, the Japanese Foreign Ministry published its “2007 Diplomatic Blue Book,” which adds a new goal to Tokyo’s international actions: “value oriented diplomacy.” After five decades of focusing on the United Nations, the United States, and Asia, the book says Japan will now also pursue a foreign policy to realize universal values, such as freedom, democracy, basic human rights, and rule of law. Foreign Minister Taro Aso insisted that it is “a responsibility for Japan, as a developed democratic nation.” August 24, 2007 Commentary Also available in 
Printer friendly version The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement Annex 22-B: A Missed Opportunity on Workers’ Rights in North Korea This 13-page briefing paper looks at Annex 22-B of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and how it flouts the spirit of the recently amended workers’ rights provisions. It also makes recommendations on how to amend Annex 22 in order to effectively protect, in law and practice, the basic labor rights of the workers producing goods under the existing agreement. August 2, 2007 Background Briefing The rights of North Korean refugees By Sophie Richardson, Asia Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch Published in JoongAng Daily The fact that Kim and his family face certain persecution back home makes them refugees in international refugee law. July 9, 2007 Commentary Also available in 
Printer friendly version Grotesque indifference By Kay Seok, North Korea researcher Published in International Herald Tribune 'China hopes to see the DPRK [North Korea], our neighbor, enjoy economic and social progress with its people living happily," said Qin Gang, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, at a recent press briefing. Qin's aspirations for North Korea sound like those of many others who wish to alleviate the suffering of some of the world's most brutalized people. May 15, 2007 Commentary Also available in
Printer friendly version North Korea's Cruelty By Kay Seok Published in The Washington Post North Korea is again dominating headlines by signing a deal to close its main nuclear reactor and allow international inspectors to return in exchange for energy and economic assistance. As North Korea watchers cautiously welcome this possible step toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, a deeply disturbing development has garnered almost no attention: Pyongyang's hardening policy toward North Korean border-crossers. March 17, 2007 Commentary Also available in
Printer friendly version Audio Commentary: North Korea - Border-Crossers Harshly Punished on Return The minimum punishment even for first-time offenders is a year in prison and the maximum is now 5 years in prison. And it’s worth noting that prisons in North Korea are quite harsh. (Run time: 4:13) March 6, 2007 Audio Clip North Korea: Border-Crossers Harshly Punished on Return China Should Grant UNHCR Access to North Koreans in Border Area In an ominous hardening of policy, North Korea appears to be punishing its citizens with longer sentences in abusive prisons if they are caught crossing the border to China or have been forcibly repatriated by Beijing, Human Rights Watch said in a new briefing paper released today. March 5, 2007 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version North Korea Harsher Policies against Border-Crossers The North Korean government has hardened its policy towards its citizens it catches crossing the border into China without state permission, or whom China has forcibly repatriated. Until around November 2004 those who crossed the border—often to find food—were typically released after questioning or served at most a few months in forced labor camps, a relatively light punishment by North Korean standards for what is considered an act of treason.1 Recent interviews by Human Rights Watch show that this relative leniency is over: in late 2004 North Korea announced a new policy of harshly punishing border crossers with prison sentences of up to five years. Anyone imprisoned in North Korea is liable to face abusive conditions including beatings, forced labor, and starvation far worse than among the population at large. March 5, 2007 Background Briefing Also available in
Principled Leadership: A Human Rights Agenda for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon By Peggy Hicks There is an urgent need today for the new Secretary-General to speak out forcefully in defense of human rights. January 11, 2007 World Report Essay Also available in
Japan's peculiar silence on rights abuses Exclusive Focus on Abductees By Sophie Richardson, Deputy Asia Director, Human Rights Watch Published in The Japan Times Japan observed "Korea Human Rights Week," a new occasion stipulated by the June 2006 North Korean Human Rights Act. The act, which built on Japan's cosponsorship of the 2005 United Nations General Assembly resolution, is supposed to increase public awareness of, and prevent, a variety of human rights abuses in North Korea, including torture, abuse of repatriated refugees, constraints on freedom of thought, expression and religion, and trafficking of women in China. January 8, 2007 Commentary Also available in
Printer friendly version Human Rights Challenges for the New UN Secretary-General Letter to Incoming Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Published in The Hankyoreh In this letter to the new secretary-general, Human Rights Watch identifies some of the key human rights issues that will help define Ban's success as secretary-general: implementating the "responsibility to protect" doctrine, putting pressure on China, taking a holistic approach to North Korea, mainstreaming women's rights within the UN system, and getting the Human Rights Council back on track. December 31, 2006 Commentary Also available in
Printer friendly version Japan: Letter to Prime Minister Abe About Prioritizing Human Rights in its Foreign Policy We welcome the government of Japan’s commitment to prioritizing human rights in its foreign policy at the United Nations in the coming year. We also welcome your September 26 press conference speech stressing the value Japan places on fundamental human rights and your intention to pursue more proactive diplomacy in support of such goals. November 21, 2006 Letter Also available in
Printer friendly version South Korea: Policy Shift May Help Rights in North Korea South Korea is taking a step in the right direction by deciding for the first time to vote in favor of an upcoming United Nations General Assembly resolution on North Korea’s human rights situation, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch urged Seoul to press Pyongyang to start meaningful dialogues with UN human rights experts. November 17, 2006 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version North Korea: Ending Food Aid Would Deepen Hunger Resume Food Aid to North Korea’s Vulnerable Population Emergency food aid to North Korea should not be suspended in response to the country’s alleged nuclear test, Human Rights Watch said today. Since the mid 1990s, North Korea has been dependent on foreign aid to feed up to one third of its population. October 10, 2006 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Not a sweatshop, but no ‘workers' heaven' By Sophie Richardson Published in JoongAng Daily, October 8, 2006 Imagine a factory in South Korea where the workers are prohibited from forming a labor union, electing their own representatives or engaging in collective bargaining. You can bet there would be angry protest rallies by the workers until the management corrects its ways, and the company would be in legal trouble for violating South Korea's Labor Law, which guarantees these and other basic workers' rights. And surely the country's powerful labor groups would be expressing their fury. October 8, 2006 Commentary Also available in
Printer friendly version North Korea: Workers’ Rights at the Kaesong Industrial Complex This 19-page briefing paper provides an overview of labor conditions at the KIC, an industrial complex located in North Korea. It documents the KIC Labor Law’s shortcomings in the areas of the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the prohibitions on sex discrimination and harassment and harmful child labor, among others. October 3, 2006 Background Briefing Also available in
North Korea: Labor Rights at Risk in Joint Industrial Complex South Korean Companies Violate Labor Law The North Korean law governing the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), a new industrial joint venture between North Korea and South Korean companies, should be amended to ensure adequate protections of basic workers’ rights, Human Rights Watch said in a new briefing paper released today. October 2, 2006 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version UN: States Must Cooperate With Human Rights Council Visits by Council Experts Remain Blocked UN member states must take immediate steps to improve cooperation with the Human Rights Council, particularly with the independent experts it has appointed to look at human rights issues, Human Rights Watch said today. September 29, 2006 Press Release Printer friendly version Joint NGO letter to United Nations Security Council on North Korea's lack of human rights A Security Council's Resolution on July 15, 2006 focused on North Korea’s recent missile tests and on the issue of non-proliferation. The Resolution omitted any mention of the systematic denial of North Koreans’ internationally recognized human rights and their humanitarian plight. Human Rights Watch strongly believe that future efforts to promote stability on the Peninsula must address both the issues of peace and security and human rights. September 16, 2006 Letter Printer friendly version |
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