CSW has today published a new report on North Korea which finds that the Kim regime continues to act with flagrant disregard for international standards and citizens face unparalleled violations of human rights, including of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), on a daily basis.
The report, titled ‘North Korea: We cannot look away’, commemorates the 10th anniversary of the publication of the report the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which is widely considered to be the most comprehensive report on human rights violations in the country.
Ten years on from the publication of the COI’s report, CSW finds that the Kim regime has made no effort to uphold international human rights standards and has taken no steps to participate as an equal and active member of the international community. The situation of human rights in the country remains unchanged at best and may even have deteriorated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased prioritisation of weapons testing and development, the introduction of new domestic legislation, and the continued forced repatriation of North Korean refugees from neighbouring China.
Drawing on interviews with six North Korean escapees and 17 experts on the country, the report highlights the complete absence of freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief in the DPRK. It finds that although all religions and beliefs face repression, Christianity is particularly targeted, suggesting that this is likely due to the extent to which Christian ideology runs counter to Juche ideology, which has been compared to a form of compulsory state religion.
Those who express an opinion or a belief which challenges the supreme authority of the Kim regime face severe punishment, including torture, detention in the country’s political prison camp system, and even execution, as do individuals suspected of exposure to and engagement with religious materials, particularly Bibles.
To coincide with the publication of the report, CSW and the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), who translated the report into Korean, held a launch event in Seoul, South Korea. The event featured contributions from academics and diplomats, and welcomed family members of individuals currently imprisoned in the DPRK.
CSW’s CEO Scot Bower said: ‘Ten years since the publication of the Commission of Inquiry’s landmark report on North Korea – which famously concluded that the ‘gravity, scale and nature’ of human rights violations in the country ‘reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world’ – and the Kim regime remains committed to being a pariah on the international stage and acting with hostility towards global standards for human rights. We hope that this report generates further conversation and innovative thinking among researchers, policymakers, civil society and funders on how to address one of the worst human rights and humanitarian crises in the world. Our vision remains one of a North Korea in which everyone is free to exercise their rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of religion or belief, and today we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that this vision becomes a reality.’
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