Study Guide. RBK International Academy Model United Nations (RMUN) 2015

Transcription

1 Study Guide RMUN 2O15 RBK International Academy Model United Nations (RMUN) 2015 In Collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre for India and Bhutan 9 th January th January 2015

2 Agenda Situation of the level of crimes and abuses occurring in North Korea

3 INDEX: RMUN 2O15 Sr.No. Content: Pg. no. 1 A Note from the Chairs 4 2 An Overview on the Agenda 5 3 Other Useful Information 6 4 List of Useful Websites 16 5 Conclusion 17

4 A Note from the Chairs Dear delegates, The Human Rights Council is a consequential body within the United Nations working for the indemnity concerning human rights globally. It aspires towards reinforcing and approaching affairs in relation to human rights violations internationally to originate an advocacy. At, all delegates should be thoroughly probed and assured about their country s perspective concerning the matter being discoursed during committee sessions and shall be acquainted with the foreign policy to prove as secured delegations. Delegates must impulsively follow the UN4MUN rules of procedure at all times. I, as chair, anticipate delegations well versed in all probable aspects who will also to be engrossed in the amiable yet stimulating debates, zestful about the issue and eloquent while expressing valid factors for a benevolent debate session. The information delivered through the study guide is to provide the fundamentals essential for the commencement of understanding the topic and hence, it is crucial to formulate that matter cannot be directly picked and endorsed without reference, citation or a honourable mention. We look forward to good natured, interactive and unforgettable committee sessions at. Yours truly, Mehak Sharma (Vishnu Balaji) Chairs of Human Rights Council at

5 An Overview on the Agenda Human rights groups have accused the North Korean government of human rights violations, including the torturing traitors and their families, forced labor camps, and the suppression of freedom of expression. North Korean citizens are poorly taken care of, as food scarcity has led to famine. On 21 March 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council established the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to investigate the grave violations of human rights in the Democratic People s Republic of Korea. These will include: 1. Violations of the right to food, 2. Violations associated with prison camps, 3. Torture and inhuman treatment, 4. Arbitrary detention, 5. Discrimination, 6. Violations of freedom of expression, 7. Violations of the right to life, 8. Violations of freedom of movement, and 9. Enforced disappearances, including in the form of abductions of nationals of other States.

6 The below information are news report/articles related to the topic of discussion. UN finds 'crimes against humanity' in N Korea New report will recommend an International Criminal Court investigation, the Associated Press news agency reports. Last updated: 15 Feb :22 A UN Commission of Inquiry has found that crimes against humanity have been committed in North Korea and will call for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Associated Press news agency has reported. The report, to be released on Monday, is the most authoritative account yet of rights violations by North Korean authorities, and is bound to infuriate its unpredictable leader. But justice remains a distant prospect, not least as North Korea's ally, China, would be likely to block any referral to the Hague- based ICC. The commission says it has evidence of an array of crimes, including "extermination," crimes against starving populations and a widespread campaign of kidnapping in South Korea and Japan. The conclusions of the year- long inquiry are due to be released on Monday but the AP reported it had been made aware of its contents ahead of publication. The news agency said that an outline of the report was provided to it by someone familiar with it, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to divulge the information before its official release. A US official, speaking anonymously for the same reason, confirmed the main conclusions, the news agency reported. The report refers to murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortion, sexual violence, forcible transfers and forced disappearances, and persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds. It also cites an overall system of political repression - the "songbun" class system - that discriminates against North Koreans on the basis of their family's perceived loyalty to the regime. Outside pressure The UN has not yet confirmed its accuracy but North Korea's UN mission has rejected the reported findings. The document, AP says, does not talk in detail of individual responsibility but recommends steps towards accountability. It concludes that the testimony and other information it received, "create reasonable grounds... to merit a criminal investigation by a competent national or international organ of justice," AP said.

7 The commission, the news agency reported, recommended the UN Security Council refer its findings to the International Criminal Court. Its publication could pile international pressure on North Korea, whose rights record has drawn less censure at the UN than its nuclear and missile programmes. The secretive country's hereditary regime, however, has shrugged off years of continuous outside reproach, including tough UN and US sanctions directed at its weapons programmes. 'Politically- motivated' The three- member commission, led by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, was set up by the UN's top human rights body in March It conducted public hearings with more than 80 victims and other witnesses in Seoul, Tokyo, London and Washington, but was not allowed into North Korea itself. As well as speaking to defectors, the commission heard from experts about a network of camps, estimated to hold 80,000 to 120,000 political prisoners, and about access to food in a country where many children suffer from malnutrition. When the UN Human Rights Council authorized the commission to begin its work, North Korea denounced it as politically- motivated by "hostile forces" trying to discredit it and dismantle its socialist system. Source: pacific/2014/02/un- finds- crimes- against- humanity- n- korea html

8 North Korea rejects UN report on atrocities A statement carried by the country's state media channel describes the UN report as "sheer lies". Last updated: 21 Feb :38 North Korea has rejected a UN commission's report that it committed crimes against humanity, calling it an "extremely dangerous" political provocation. An unnamed North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman claimed the panel was US- orchestrated and that Washington should mind its own business. In the statement carried on Friday by North Korea's state news agency, the spokesman describes the report as "sheer lies" and says North Koreans enjoy "genuine rights." The statement was in response to a hard- hitting report issued on Monday by the three- member UN commission of inquiry that recommended a referral of its findings to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court. "This is an extremely dangerous politically- motivated provocation aimed to tarnish the image of the dignified DPRK and ramp up pressure on it in a bid to bring down its social system," said the statement, referring to the North by the initials of its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Findings of the commission The three- member commission, chaired by a retired Australian judge, on Monday recommended an international criminal investigation. It warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be held accountable for orchestrating widespread crimes against civilians. The commission was established by the UN top human rights body. It conducted a year- long investigation but was unable to visit North Korea. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea published its report earlier in February with evidence of murder and rape inside the country's labour camps where political prisoners are held. The commission was set up last March to begin building a case for possible criminal prosecution and called more than 80 public hearings in the course of the investigation. The report, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next month, detailed "extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence". "The gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world," it said. "These crimes against humanity entail extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political,

9 religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation." Source: pacific/2014/02/north- korea- rejects- un- report- atrocities html

10 North Korea: There has been no discernible improvement in human rights in the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) since Kim Jong- Un assumed power after his father s death in The government continues to impose totalitarian rule. In response to the systematic denial of basic freedoms in the country, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously established a commission of inquiry in April 2013 to investigate whether such abuses amount to crimes against humanity and who should be held accountable. Although North Korea has ratified four key international human rights treaties and technically possesses a constitution with some rights protections, in reality the government represses all forms of freedom of expression and opinion and does not allow any organized political opposition, independent media, free trade unions, civil society organizations, or religious freedom. Those who attempt to assert rights fail to demonstrate sufficient reverence for the party and its leadership, or otherwise act in ways deemed contrary to state interests face arbitrary arrest, detention, lack of due process, and torture and ill- treatment. The government also practices collective punishment for supposed anti- state offenses, effectively enslaving hundreds of thousands of citizens, including children, in prison camps and other detention facilities with deplorable conditions and forced labor. Torture and Inhumane Treatment North Korean refugees living in exile some of whom fled after Kim Jong- Un took power told Human Rights Watch that people arrested in North Korea are routinely tortured by officials seeking confessions, bribes, and obedience. Common forms of torture include sleep deprivation, beatings with iron rods or sticks, kicking and slapping, and enforced sitting or standing for hours. Guards also sexually abuse female detainees. Executions North Korea s criminal code stipulates that the death penalty can be applied for vaguely defined offenses such as crimes against the state and crimes against the people. A December 2007 amendment to the penal code extended the death penalty to additional crimes, including non- violent offenses such as fraud and smuggling, as long as authorities determine the crime is extremely serious. Political Prisoner Camps North Korean refugees also confirm that persons accused of political offenses are usually sent to brutal forced labor camps, known as kwan- li- so, operated by North Korea s National Security Agency. The government practices collective punishment, sending to forced labor camps not only the offender but also their parents, spouse, children, and even grandchildren. These camps are notorious for horrific living conditions and abuse, including induced starvation, little or no medical care, lack of proper housing and clothes, continuous mistreatment and torture by guards, and executions. Forced labor at the kwan- li- so often involves difficult physical labor such as mining, logging, and agricultural work, all done with rudimentary tools in often dangerous and harsh conditions. Death rates in these camps are reportedly extremely high.

11 North Korea has never acknowledged that these kwan- li- so camps exist, but United States and South Korean officials now estimate that between 80,000 and 120,000 people may be imprisoned in them, including in camp No. 14 in Kaechun, No. 15 in Yodok, No. 16 in Hwasung, and No. 25 in Chungjin. During the year, new satellite imagery indicated camp No. 22 in Hoeryung has been closed; it is unclear what happened to the estimated 30,000 prisoners previously held at the camp. Freedom of Information and Movement The government uses fear generated mainly by threats of detention, forced labor, and public executions to prevent dissent, and imposes harsh restrictions on freedom of information and travel. All media and publications are state controlled, and unauthorized access to non- state radio or TV broadcasts is punished. North Koreans are punished if found with mobile media such as DVDs or computer flash drives containing unauthorized TV programs, such as South Korean drama and entertainment shows. Unauthorized use of Chinese mobile phones to communicate with people outside North Korea is also harshly punished. Refugees and Asylum Seekers North Korea criminalizes leaving the country without state permission. Upon Kim Jong- Un s ascension to power, the government issued a shoot- on- sight order to border guards to stop illegal crossing at the northern border into China. Since then, the government has increased rotations of North Korean border guards and cracked down on guards who turn a blind eye when people cross. People seeking to flee North Korea have also faced greater difficulties making the arduous journey from the North Korea border through China to Laos, and then into Thailand from where most are sent to South Korea. In a sign of the increased risks, the DPRK in May 2013 persuaded Laos to return nine young defectors arrested in Vientiane, at least five of whom were children, to an unknown fate in North Korea. China continues to categorically label all North Koreans in China illegal economic migrants and routinely repatriates them, despite its obligation to offer protection to refugees under the Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 protocol, to which it is a state party. The certainty of harsh punishment upon repatriation has led many in the international community to argue that North Koreans fleeing into China should all be considered refugees sur place. Beijing regularly denies the office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to North Koreans in China. Former North Korean security officials who have defected told Human Rights Watch that North Koreans handed back by China face interrogation, torture, and referral to political prisoner or forced labor camps. The severity of punishments depend on North Korean authorities assessments of what the returnee did while in China. Those suspected of simple trading schemes involving non- controversial goods are usually sent to work in forced labor brigades (known as ro- dong- dan- ryeon- dae, literally labor training centres) orjip- kyul- so (collection centres), criminal penitentiaries where forced labor is

12 required. Harsh and dangerous working conditions purportedly result in significant numbers of people being injured or killed. Those whom authorities suspect of religious or political activities abroad, especially having any sort of contact with South Koreans, are often given lengthier terms in horrendous detention facilities known as kyo- hwa- so (correctional, re- education centres) where forced labor is combined with chronic food and medicine shortages, harsh working conditions, and regular mistreatment by guards. North Korean women fleeing their country are frequently trafficked into forced de facto marriages with Chinese men. Even if they have lived there for years, these women are not entitled to legal residence and face possible arrest and repatriation. Many children of such unrecognized marriages lack legal identity or access to elementary education. Labor Rights North Korea is one of the few nations in the world that still refuses to join the International Labour Organization (ILO). Forced labor is essentially the norm in the country, and workers are systematically denied freedom of association and the right to organize and collectively bargain. The government firmly controls the only authorized trade union organization, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea. In April, the North Korea government unilaterally shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), close to the border between North and South Korea, where 123 South Korean companies employ over 50,000 North Korean workers. The KIC reopened in September after intensive negotiations to set up a joint North Korea- South Korea committee to oversee the complex. However, there was no change to the law governing working conditions, which fall far short of international standards. Key International Actors North Korea s record of cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms is arguably among the worst in the world. It ignores all resolutions on the human rights situation in North Korea adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and the UN General Assembly, and has never responded to requests for visits from the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the DPRK. The April HRC resolution establishing a UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights in the DPRK constituted an important and warranted increase in UN scrutiny of the government s rights record. The COI is due to report to the HRC in March 2014 on nine distinct areas of abuse including the violation of the right to food, the violations associated with prison camps, torture and inhuman treatment, arbitrary detention, discrimination, violations of freedom of expression, violations of the right to life, violations of freedom of movement, and enforced disappearances, including in the form of abductions of nationals of other States, with a view to ensuring full accountability, in particular where these violations may amount to crimes against humanity. In an oral update given to the HRC on September 16, Michael Kirby, chair of the COI, stated that testimony heard thus far points to widespread and serious violations in all areas that the

13 Human Rights Council asked the Commission to investigate and to large- scale patterns that may constitute systematic and gross human rights violations. The COI has visited South Korea, Japan, Thailand, the United States, and United Kingdom, but to date North Korea has refused to cooperate. China has also declined to let the three COI commissioners visit the country to conduct investigations. Two weeks before conservative Park Geun- hye was sworn- in as new president of South Korea in February, North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in seven years, earning widespread international condemnation, including from its closest ally, China. North Korean threats, cancelling of family reunification visits, and the five- month long shuttering of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, further contributed to a chill in North- South relations. Six- party talks on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula involving North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, and the US remained moribund during the year. Japan continues to demand the return of 17 Japanese citizens that North Korea abducted in the 1970s and 1980s. Some Japanese civil society groups insist the number of abductees is much higher. South Korea s government expanded its attention and efforts to press for the return of hundreds of its abducted citizens. Source: report/2014/country- chapters/north- korea

14 N Korea official admits use of labour camps Foreign ministry official acknowledges for first time the existence of "reform through labour" camps but denies abuses. Last updated: 08 Oct :43 A North Korean official has publicly acknowledged for the first time the existence of "reform through labour'' camps, after a highly critical UN report into the country's human rights record earlier this year, but dismissed the report's accusations. Choe Myong Nam, a North Korean foreign ministry official in charge of UN affairs and human rights issues, briefly discussed the camps with journalists at the UN on Tuesday. "Both in law and practice, we do have reform through labour detention camps - no, detention centers - where people are improved through their mentality and look on their wrongdoings," he said. But he also said his country has no prison camps and, in practice, "no prison, things like that." The UN report, released in February, was compiled from testimony from North Korean exiles and listed "extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence". Diplomats for the reclusive Communist state also told reporters that a top North Korean official had visited the headquarters of the European Union and expressed interest in beginning a dialogue on human rights. North Korea's deputy UN ambassador Ri Tong Il said the secretary of his country's ruling Workers' Party had visited the EU, and that "we are expecting end of this year to open political dialogue between the two sides". The North Korean officials took several questions but did not respond to one about the health of leader Kim Jong- un, who has made no public appearances since September 3, and missed a high- profile recent event he usually attends. In Brussels, an EU official confirmed a recent North Korea meeting with the EU's top human rights official, Stavros Lambrinidis, but said any dialogue currently planned was limited to rights issues. 'Tool for interference' The North Korean officials said they did not oppose human rights dialogue as long as the issue was not used as a "tool for interference". Disturbing accounts from North Korea defectors Their briefing seemed timed in advance of the latest resolution on North Korea and human rights that the EU and Japan put to the UN General Assembly every year.

15 North Korea's public acknowledgement of the reform camps, and its overture to the EU rights chief, were signs that Pyongyang now realizes the discussion of its human rights record would not fade away, said Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Washington- based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. Last month, a senior court official mentioned the reform camps' existence in an interview with the pro- Pyongyang website Minjok Tongshin. The North's own report on its human rights system accuses the US and its allies of a campaign aimed at interfering in Pyongyang's affairs "and eventually overthrowing the social system by fabricating 'human rights issue' of the DPRK [North Korea] to mislead international opinions," the report said. Param- Preet Singh, a senior counsel for Human Rights Watch who attended the briefing along with a number of diplomats from other countries, said the significance of the event was that North Korea held it at all. The country used to be seen as "impervious to pressure," she said. Source: pacific/2014/10/n- korea- official- admits- use- labour- camps html

16 Useful Websites: 1. genocide- north- korea%e2%80%99s- prison- state korea- un- report/ 4. report/2014/country- chapters/north- korea /Villages- turned- CONCENTRATION- CAMPS- North- Korea- brutal- regime- struggles- house- hundreds- thousands- political- prisoners.html Conclusion: The information in this study guide is a mere starting point for further research. This is just a stepping- stone and a way for you to become familiar with the topic before doing the expected, extensive research that is required for debate in HRC at. We urge you not to be restricted to this study guide as supplementary research is a requirement for the committee to function efficiently.