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| Coalition Seeks to Send North Korea to International Court Over Rights Abuses | Coalition Seeks to Send North Korea to International Court Over Rights Abuses |
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| UNITED NATIONS — Seven months after a groundbreaking report documenting how North Korea tortured and starved its citizens, a broad coalition of countries is pushing for the first time to refer Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court for prosecution of crimes against humanity. | UNITED NATIONS — Seven months after a groundbreaking report documenting how North Korea tortured and starved its citizens, a broad coalition of countries is pushing for the first time to refer Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court for prosecution of crimes against humanity. |
| Japan and the European Union circulated a draft resolution last week among United Nations member states that encourages the Security Council to refer North Korea to the tribunal in The Hague; 43 countries have so far signed on in support. The move builds on Secretary of State John Kerry’s bid last month to raise the profile of rights violations in North Korea by hosting an unusual session devoted to the issue on the sidelines of the General Assembly’s annual conclave. | |
| On Wednesday, the American ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, furthered that effort by presenting an award to the chief author of the landmark report, Michael D. Kirby, a retired Australian judge. | On Wednesday, the American ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, furthered that effort by presenting an award to the chief author of the landmark report, Michael D. Kirby, a retired Australian judge. |
| The efforts are a breakthrough for human rights advocates who have long urged world powers to scrutinize reported rights abuses in North Korea, and not just focus on its nuclear arms. The momentum has built since the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva called last March for accountability after reviewing Mr. Kirby’s harrowing report, compiled after interviews with 240 victims and witnesses who had escaped the country. | The efforts are a breakthrough for human rights advocates who have long urged world powers to scrutinize reported rights abuses in North Korea, and not just focus on its nuclear arms. The momentum has built since the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva called last March for accountability after reviewing Mr. Kirby’s harrowing report, compiled after interviews with 240 victims and witnesses who had escaped the country. |
| The report did not allege genocide, but said there had been crimes of “extermination” committed, as well as murder, enslavement, torture and rape. The testimony included allegations that pregnant women in the gulags were sometimes so badly beaten that they miscarried and that one woman had been forced to drown her baby. | The report did not allege genocide, but said there had been crimes of “extermination” committed, as well as murder, enslavement, torture and rape. The testimony included allegations that pregnant women in the gulags were sometimes so badly beaten that they miscarried and that one woman had been forced to drown her baby. |
| If the diplomatic buildup reaches the Security Council in the coming months, it will most certainly ratchet up the pressure on China, which is Pyongyang’s chief ally, at a time when Beijing is seeking to bolster its international standing. China has already been compelled to say it sees no need for an international court referral. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday that disputes over human rights issues should be handled through “dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect.” | If the diplomatic buildup reaches the Security Council in the coming months, it will most certainly ratchet up the pressure on China, which is Pyongyang’s chief ally, at a time when Beijing is seeking to bolster its international standing. China has already been compelled to say it sees no need for an international court referral. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday that disputes over human rights issues should be handled through “dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect.” |
| Beijing is one of five permanent members of the Security Council and wields veto power over its decisions, including whether to recommend a case to the international court. | Beijing is one of five permanent members of the Security Council and wields veto power over its decisions, including whether to recommend a case to the international court. |
| Still, North Korea, one of the world’s most isolated and opaque countries, seems to be taking the threat of at least some action seriously. Its envoys have struck back in recent weeks with a mix of unusual diplomatic concessions, hard-line rhetoric and propaganda videos, handed out to reporters like Halloween candy in the corridors of the United Nations. Earlier this month, North Korea even circulated a draft measure of its own, calling on the United Nations to conduct an “unbiased reassessment” of its human rights record; it regards Mr. Kirby’s commission of inquiry as a Western plot. | |
| Mr. Kirby, 75, with thinning hair and a slow gait, has emerged as a somewhat improbable standard-bearer in the global movement to hold North Korea accountable for its reported rights violations. | Mr. Kirby, 75, with thinning hair and a slow gait, has emerged as a somewhat improbable standard-bearer in the global movement to hold North Korea accountable for its reported rights violations. |
| Speaking last week to the human rights committee of the General Assembly, Mr. Kirby urged diplomats to push the Security Council to refer North Korea to the international court — only to get into a spirited row with the diplomat representing Pyongyang. | Speaking last week to the human rights committee of the General Assembly, Mr. Kirby urged diplomats to push the Security Council to refer North Korea to the international court — only to get into a spirited row with the diplomat representing Pyongyang. |
| Kim Song, a counselor from the North Korean mission, described the commission as “a political conspiracy by the United States and hostile forces.” | Kim Song, a counselor from the North Korean mission, described the commission as “a political conspiracy by the United States and hostile forces.” |
| In the back-and-forth that followed, Mr. Kirby sharply urged the diplomat to listen to the testimonies himself. Unbowed, the North Korean said the witnesses who testified were criminals. | In the back-and-forth that followed, Mr. Kirby sharply urged the diplomat to listen to the testimonies himself. Unbowed, the North Korean said the witnesses who testified were criminals. |
| Mr. Kirby’s voice shook a little in answering. “The truth in this report is very concerning to the world community,” Mr. Kirby shot back, “and your country has to face up to it.” | Mr. Kirby’s voice shook a little in answering. “The truth in this report is very concerning to the world community,” Mr. Kirby shot back, “and your country has to face up to it.” |
| When the meeting finished, the North Korean delegation headed straight for the terrace to smoke, though Mr. Kim, wearing the portrait of his supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, on his lapel, began handing out CDs entitled “Lie and Truth.” Mr. Kim said they told the true story of a prominent defector. | When the meeting finished, the North Korean delegation headed straight for the terrace to smoke, though Mr. Kim, wearing the portrait of his supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, on his lapel, began handing out CDs entitled “Lie and Truth.” Mr. Kim said they told the true story of a prominent defector. |
| As part of its campaign against new scrutiny, North Korea has also released its own human rights report, claiming that North Korea enjoys robust human rights including freedom of speech and protection from torture. In a diplomatic concession, it has agreed to subject itself to a periodic review of its human rights performance by the United Nations. | As part of its campaign against new scrutiny, North Korea has also released its own human rights report, claiming that North Korea enjoys robust human rights including freedom of speech and protection from torture. In a diplomatic concession, it has agreed to subject itself to a periodic review of its human rights performance by the United Nations. |
| And on Monday, the North’s ambassador to the United Nations, Jang Il Hun, made a rare appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He dismissed the proposed United Nations resolution as a “plot” by the United States to overthrow the government and warned vaguely of consequences for any talks on its nuclear program. | And on Monday, the North’s ambassador to the United Nations, Jang Il Hun, made a rare appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He dismissed the proposed United Nations resolution as a “plot” by the United States to overthrow the government and warned vaguely of consequences for any talks on its nuclear program. |
| “If such attempt to sabotage or overthrow our system is the policy of the United States administration, then we cannot but re-examine our overall policy towards the United States,” Mr. Jang told the audience. “My people also will have no interest in continuing in the talks on nuclear issues.” | “If such attempt to sabotage or overthrow our system is the policy of the United States administration, then we cannot but re-examine our overall policy towards the United States,” Mr. Jang told the audience. “My people also will have no interest in continuing in the talks on nuclear issues.” |
| The next day, his government released an American detainee, Jeffrey Fowle, one in a series of conciliatory gestures that analysts have read as an attempt to draw the United States into dialogue even as it continues to build its nuclear arsenal. | The next day, his government released an American detainee, Jeffrey Fowle, one in a series of conciliatory gestures that analysts have read as an attempt to draw the United States into dialogue even as it continues to build its nuclear arsenal. |
| Unlike previous resolutions to punish North Korea, the one being circulated includes the language on the International Criminal Court and is likely to come up for a vote in the human rights committee in November. It would need a majority of votes in the 193-member General Assembly after that. | Unlike previous resolutions to punish North Korea, the one being circulated includes the language on the International Criminal Court and is likely to come up for a vote in the human rights committee in November. It would need a majority of votes in the 193-member General Assembly after that. |
| Diplomats say they expect China to lobby vigorously against the I.C.C. language, especially among African states that have their own grievances with the international court. Ultimately, an I.C.C. referral can be made only by the United Nations’ most powerful unit, the 15-member Security Council. | Diplomats say they expect China to lobby vigorously against the I.C.C. language, especially among African states that have their own grievances with the international court. Ultimately, an I.C.C. referral can be made only by the United Nations’ most powerful unit, the 15-member Security Council. |
| For all the diplomatic jockeying, a Council referral is hardly enough to result in a prosecution. The Council referred both Darfur and Libya to the court, but the prosecutor has been unable to gain custody of any of the leaders that it has indicted, including Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who remains president of Sudan. | For all the diplomatic jockeying, a Council referral is hardly enough to result in a prosecution. The Council referred both Darfur and Libya to the court, but the prosecutor has been unable to gain custody of any of the leaders that it has indicted, including Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who remains president of Sudan. |