U.N. Security Council meets on human rights in N. Korea
Panel hears of ‘horror’
UNITED NATIONS — The head of the commission of inquiry that accused North Korea of crimes against humanity told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that it must take action against “a totalitarian state without parallel in the contemporary world,” and he told reporters that most council members “expressly said” the matter should be referred to the International Criminal Court.
It was the first time the council had met to discuss the unprecedented U.N. report that contains graphic details and an urgent call to action. The informal meeting comes as members of the commission push for its findings to be formally referred to the council and the ICC.
“We dare say that the case of human rights in the DPRK exceeds all oth- ers in duration, intensity and horror,” commission head Michael Kirby told the meeting, according to a copy of the speech obtained by the Associated Press. He was referring to initials of the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Kirby said the commission wants the Security Council to adopt targeted sanctions “against those individuals most responsible” and stressed that only the council can launch “immediate, impartial and just action to secure accountability.” Economic sanctions or a halt to humanitarian aid would harm ordinary citizens, he said.
The United States, France and Australia called the council meeting, which was open to all U.N. member states and selected non-governmental organizations. It was closed to the media.
In his speech, Kirby told the meeting that up to 120,000 people are imprisoned in North Korea and most “will never leave the camps alive.”
“The gravity, scale, duration and nature of human rights violations that we found reveal a totalitarian state without parallel in the contemporary world,” Kirby, a retired Australian judge, said. He added, “Accountability is not optional. It is obligatory.”
North Korea has called the report an “extremely dangerous” political provocation.
The reclusive communist regime’s top ally, China, did not attend. Neither did Russia. Both hold veto power as permanent Security Council members, making any council action against North Korea highly unlikely.
Kirby called their absence unfortunate and said the commission had reached out to both countries as late as Wednesday for China and Thursday for Russia, to no avail.