The United Nations is revisiting the human rights situation in North Korea, a decade after the groundbreaking Commission of Inquiry (COI) report described conditions there as unparalleled in the modern world. The 2014 report found ongoing crimes against humanity and the persecution of specific groups, with evidence suggesting that North Korean Christians may be facing genocide. The UN is set to release an update to the COI report in September, which should investigate whether genocide is occurring in addition to crimes against humanity.
According to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, genocide involves the intent to destroy a people group based on their nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion. Acts of genocide can include killing, causing bodily harm, inflicting conditions leading to physical destruction, preventing births, and transferring children. Even if just one of these criteria is met, an atrocity crime can be considered genocide.
The 2014 COI report did not investigate genocide, but the upcoming report should expand its scope and look into whether genocide is being committed against Christians in North Korea. Christians in the country have long faced severe persecution, imprisonment, and execution based on their beliefs. The regime has subjected them to bodily harm and even sent a two-year-old child and her family to life imprisonment for being Christian. The regime also uses labor and political camps to subject Christians to starvation, torture, forced labor, and death.
In addition to Christians, other groups in North Korea, such as Shamanists, non-Christian members of the hostile class, and half-Chinese Koreans, may also be facing genocide. The international community, including the United States and the UN, must take action to address the ongoing human rights violations in North Korea. The U.S. should issue its own determination on whether the regime has committed genocide or crimes against humanity and renew its commitment to defending human rights in the country.
The U.S. government should also take further steps to support the North Korean people, such as extending refugee safe haven, pressing for the release of those held in labor camps, and striving for the closure of all political prison camps in North Korea. By taking these measures, the U.S. can advance its interests and values in the region and support those who continue to suffer under the repressive regime. The international community must not let another decade pass without taking action to address the human rights crisis in North Korea.
