[27th Peace Studies Forum] The United Nations and Human Rights in North Korea

• Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024, 17:00-18:30
• Venue: Online Video Conference(ZOOM)
• Presenter: Baik, Tae-Ung (Professor of Law, William S. Richardson School of Law in Honolulu, University of Hawaii at Manoa)
• Chair: Cho, Jung-hyun (Professor of Law, School of Law, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)
• Topic: The United Nations and Human Rights in North Korea

The Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University (IPUS at SNU) hosted its 27th Peace Studies Forum on Thursday, November 21, 2024, under the theme ‘The United Nations and Human Rights in North Korea,’ with Professor Baik, Tae-Ung from the University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law. The forum was chaired by Professor Cho, Jung-hyun from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Law School, who opened the forum with welcoming remarks.

In this forum, Prof. Baek Tae-woong presented his lecture on “1) UN human rights mechanisms, 2) Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and 3) ways to improve North Korea’s human rights situation.” “Since the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council in 2006, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the Special Procedure (SP) have been the two most effective systems of the Human Rights Council,” said Prof. Baek. ”In the fourth cycle of the UPR, which is held every five years, North Korea is being reviewed in a plenary session with the Working Group (Troika) of the UN Human Rights Council.” “North Korea’s attitude towards the UPR review over the past three cycles has shown a relative openness to the process,” said Dr. Paik, adding that the country’s rejection of all recommendations in 2009 and its acceptance of 199 recommendations in 2019 shows that North Korea can no longer deny the universal nature of human rights.” Finally, “North Korea has completed the submission of its national report, which was due on August 5, 2024, and the 47th session of the UPR Working Group will be held from November 4 to 15,” explained Prof. Baek, “the resulting report of the Working Group (Troika) will be presented to the Human Rights Council General Assembly next year, in 2025.”

“All UN member states are obligated to respect and ensure human rights, regardless of whether they have ratified human rights treaties,” said Professor Baek. ”It is in this spirit of the UN Charter that the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) was created on March 15, 2006.” “The role of the HRC is to promote respect for human rights and the protection of fundamental freedoms,” explained Prof. Baek, ‘and its specific mechanism, the ’Special Procedure,’ is to respond to and make recommendations on cases of serious and systematic violations of human rights.” “The HRC Advisory Committee acts as a think tank for the Council based on Council resolutions,” explained Prof. Baek, ”and provides expert advice to the Council when requested by the Council and in accordance with the Council’s guidelines.” Prof. Baek went on to explain the Complaint Procedure of the Human Rights Council, which allows individuals and organizations to raise concerns about grave and clearly documented human rights violations, which are then examined by a working group composed of members of the Human Rights Council’s Advisory Committee.

Among the various human rights mechanisms introduced earlier, Prof. Baek highlighted the Universal Periodic Review. “It is a process by which all countries are reviewed at least once every five years on the implementation of their human rights obligations and commitments in a manner that ensures universal application and equal treatment based on ‘objective and reliable information,’” he explained, ”and it has a very special significance in that it promotes a cooperative mechanism for the protection of human rights.” “For this reason, North Korea is an active participant in the process, and it provides an opportunity for North Korea to think seriously about protecting the universal value of human rights,” explained Dr. Baek. “Specifically, in its fourth periodic report, North Korea stated that it had enacted and amended a number of human rights-related laws and regulations, and actively asserted that it was making efforts to improve human rights, including by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in November 2023 and submitting its initial report under that treaty,” Baek said. “It is noteworthy that it emphasizes international dialogue and cooperation on improving human rights, albeit under the guiding principles of ‘respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, impartiality, objectivity, and mutual benefit,’” said Professor Baek. ‘It is also noteworthy that 86 delegations submitted 294 recommendations at the November 7, 2024, interactive dialogue, and on November 13, North Korea said it would ’take note’ of 88 recommendations.”

“The UN’s commitment to human rights in North Korea as a long history, with the UN General Assembly adopting a resolution on North Korean human rights every year since 2003,” said Prof. Baek. In particular, he introduced the 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry Report (COI Report), which stated that “those most responsible for crimes against humanity in North Korea must be held accountable, and these measures must be combined with a timetable for inter-Korean reconciliation and the promotion of gradual change through enhanced human rights dialogue and people-to-people contacts,” and raised the question of “how to combine efforts to achieve real and lasting change with criticism and sanctions for human rights violations?”, emphasizing the need to examine the North Korean human rights problem from multiple perspectives. He attributed North Korea’s human rights problems to “legal flaws, procedural rights that are ignored within the existing legal system, and a lack of will to prevent human rights violations,” and emphasized that “addressing them requires careful consideration of complex dynamics both domestically and internationally, while not sacrificing human rights improvements for other goals. “Change for security and human rights requires ‘engagement’ and ‘interaction,’” said Professor Baek, ‘but engagement should be done while maintaining international standards, and it is important to emphasize the ’moral value’ of human rights while maintaining political neutrality to prevent human rights from being used as a political tool.”

“The current turbulent international situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula has overshadowed human rights issues with security concerns,“ Professor Baek explained. ‘Nevertheless, by maintaining that ’human rights are universal values and norms,’ we should make efforts to actually improve human rights and promote them despite the seriousness of the security situation.” Prof. Baek also emphasized that “improving human rights issues can be a stepping stone to lasting peace, common prosperity, and reunification,” and concluded his lecture by emphasizing that “we must continue to make efforts to improve the human rights situation in North Korea.”