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U.N. Panel Urges International Action on North Korean Human Rights Abuses U.N. Panel Urges International Action on North Korean Human Rights Abuses
(35 minutes later)
GENEVA — The United Nations experts investigating human rights conditions in North Korea said Tuesday that the “shocking” evidence they have been collecting from defectors and others suggests “large-scale” patterns of abuse that demand an international response. GENEVA — The United Nations experts investigating human rights conditions in North Korea said Tuesday that the “shocking” evidence they had collected from defectors and others suggested “large-scale” patterns of abuse that demanded an international response.
The Human Rights Council pushed for the investigation in an attempt to bring new attention to allegations of horrifying abuses at the North’s infamous gulags that have been trickling out for years as more people have escaped the brutal police state. Until now, world powers including the United States have focused instead on attempts to dismantle the North’s nuclear weapons program. The Human Rights Council pushed for the investigation in an attempt to bring new attention to allegations of horrifying abuses at the North’s infamous gulags that have been trickling out for years as more people have escaped the brutal police state. Until now, world powers including the United States had focused instead on attempts to dismantle the North’s nuclear weapons program.
The chairman of the three-member Commission of Inquiry, Michael Donald Kirby, told reporters that the testimony he heard in recent months evoked reactions similar to the discovery of concentration camps in Europe after World War II. The chairman of the three-member Commission of Inquiry, Michael Donald Kirby, told reporters that the testimony he had heard in recent months evoked reactions similar to the discovery of concentration camps in Europe after World War II.
He cited the statements of a former prisoner who said she had seen another woman forced to drown her baby in a bucket, and the account of a man who said he had collected and burned the bodies of prisoners who had died of starvation. Experts say the number of prisoners in gulags has dropped in recent years — to an estimated 120,000 or less from a possible high of 200,000 — but that might be partly because so many had died from forced labor and a lack of food. He cited the statements of a former prisoner who said she had seen another woman forced to drown her baby in a bucket, and the account of a man who said he had collected and burned the bodies of prisoners who had died of starvation. Experts say the number of prisoners in gulags has dropped in recent years — to an estimated 120,000 or fewer from a possible high of 200,000 — but that might be partly because so many had died from forced labor and a lack of food.
“The great value” of the report, Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, United States ambassador to the Human Rights Council, said “is that has begun to shed light on the horrifying realities of life in North Korea and raise international awareness of the ongoing tragedy and barbaric conditions there.” She also said the findings represented a “small but significant crack” in the North’s “information blockade.” “The great value” of the report, said Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, United States ambassador to the Human Rights Council, is that it “has begun to shed light on the horrifying realities of life in North Korea and raise international awareness of the ongoing tragedy and barbaric conditions there.” She also said the findings represented a “small but significant crack” in the North’s “information blockade.”
The findings of the three-member Commission of Inquiry were part of an interim report to the council; the final report in March is expected to eventually be presented to the United Nations General Assembly.The findings of the three-member Commission of Inquiry were part of an interim report to the council; the final report in March is expected to eventually be presented to the United Nations General Assembly.
It remains unclear what actions the United Nations might take. Any referral to the International Criminal Court for human rights abuses would need to be approved by the Security Council, which includes North Korea’s long-time ally, China. It remains unclear what actions the United Nations might take. Any referral to the International Criminal Court for human rights abuses would need to be approved by the Security Council, which includes North Korea’s longtime ally, China.
Although China did not actively oppose the investigation, a senior Chinese diplomat in Geneva on Tuesday criticized the interim findings. “Politicized accusations and pressures are not helpful to improving human rights in any country,” Chen Chuandong said, according to Reuters. “On the contrary, they will only provoke confrontation and undermine the foundation and atmosphere for international human rights cooperation.”Although China did not actively oppose the investigation, a senior Chinese diplomat in Geneva on Tuesday criticized the interim findings. “Politicized accusations and pressures are not helpful to improving human rights in any country,” Chen Chuandong said, according to Reuters. “On the contrary, they will only provoke confrontation and undermine the foundation and atmosphere for international human rights cooperation.”
Mr. Kirby said the panel had submitted several requests seeking cooperation and access to North Korea, including a letter to the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, but the North Korean government said it “totally and categorically rejects the Commission of Inquiry.”Mr. Kirby said the panel had submitted several requests seeking cooperation and access to North Korea, including a letter to the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, but the North Korean government said it “totally and categorically rejects the Commission of Inquiry.”
A senior North Korean diplomat in Geneva, Kim Yong-ho, said Tuesday that the evidence cited by the panel had been “fabricated and invented” by forces hostile to North Korea, and dismissed the commission as “a hotbed of confrontation and distrust.”A senior North Korean diplomat in Geneva, Kim Yong-ho, said Tuesday that the evidence cited by the panel had been “fabricated and invented” by forces hostile to North Korea, and dismissed the commission as “a hotbed of confrontation and distrust.”
Mr. Kirby said he had invited North Korea to provide hard evidence that refuted any of the testimony received, but none was forthcoming. Mr. Kirby said that he had invited North Korea to provide hard evidence that refuted any of the testimony received, but that none was forthcoming.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 17, 2013Correction: September 17, 2013

An earlier version of this article misidentified the North Korean official who responded to Michael Donald Kirby’s statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council.  It was Kim Yong-ho, the North Korean mission’s counselor to the United Nations in Geneva, not So Se-pyong, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

An earlier version of this article misidentified the North Korean official who responded to Michael Donald Kirby’s statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council.  It was Kim Yong-ho, the North Korean mission’s counselor to the United Nations in Geneva, not So Se-pyong, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.