 By Eric Ryu, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern, and Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor August 10, 2021 The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 intends to protect human rights and freedom in North Korea, including the promotion of humanitarian or legal assistance to North Koreans escapees.[1] Granting North Korean refugees [2] the opportunity to come to the United States was an important factor in adopting the act. However, since the United States formally began accepting North Korean refugees in 2006, the annual number has continuously been decreasing with a total of only 220 refugees resettled in the United States. [3] In fiscal year 2020 alone, the United States only accepted two refugees. [4] There are many factors that have contributed to the decline in the number of North Korean refugees to the United States. North Korean escapees will generally choose to resettle in South Korea as the country had accepted a total of 33,752 refugees as of January 27, [5], [6] but the process of resettling in the United States is much more time-consuming than in South Korea and navigating through the United States immigration system is very complex. Therefore, it is important to identify and understand why the number has decreased significantly, so the United States can address these concerns to facilitate North Korean refugee resettlement in the United States.
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 By Seshni Moodley, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Carter Thompson, HRNK Research Intern, and Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor August 5, 2021 Introduction Women’s rights violations are a global issue. Women are continuously disadvantaged in many spheres of everyday life. There are various social, political and cultural constraints that hamper the promotion of women’s rights in North Korea. Amongst the various barriers that are hampering the promotion of gender equality in North Korea, the most prominent are the laws of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as these laws enforce the idea that women play an inferior role in society.  By Michelle Dang, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Eric Ryu, HRNK Research Intern and Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs August 3, 2021 As the Biden administration has recently affirmed its commitment to fostering a well-grounded U.S. policy toward North Korea, it is critical to revisit the role of the Special Envoy for Human Rights in North Korea and push for the speedy reinstatement of this senior official. Denuclearization will continue to take center stage in the Korean peninsula’s peace process. However, human rights concerns in North Korea will have to be equally addressed if North Korean reintegration into the international community is to be expected. The reappointment of this Special Envoy would highlight the urgency of revitalizing human rights discourses and implementing effective enforcement of existing recommendations and policies.  By Carter Thompson, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern May 6, 2021 North Korea and the Kim regime are synonymous with nuclear weapons proliferation and isolationism. However, there is much more occurring that fails to reach the mainstream media when it comes to North Korea. While the regime’s nuclear priorities fill the news, a much darker truth continues unencumbered—crimes against humanity. North Korea runs merciless political prison camps in which arbitrarily imprisoned individuals are forced to endure brutal crimes, including torture, starvation, forced abortions, and enslavement.[1] Justice Michael Kirby, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, stated that the crimes being committed in these camps rival those committed by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.[2] How then, is nothing being done? Perhaps it is the Kim regime’s nuclear capabilities or the protection of Russia and China’s veto power on the United Nations Security Council shielding North Korea. Maybe the complicated legal framework of sovereignty and intervening in a state’s affairs erects an additional barrier. Undoubtedly, all of these factors play a role. However, is it possible that there is another contributing factor, something grimmer, something that is not being asked in the highest levels of academia and international governing bodies regarding passivity—do we just not care enough?  By Damian Reddy, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Sophia Hapin, HRNK Research Intern May 5, 2021 In a public statement to the Human Rights Council in March 2014, the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Michael Kirby, asserted that the North Korean government had established a system of apartheid.[1] This was further emphasized in 2015 in Seoul, South Korea, by former United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who expressed her thoughts on the North Korean government by likening it to South Africa’s discriminatory apartheid regime. She further stressed that North Korea’s songbun caste system is, in fact, a new form of apartheid.[2] North Korea’s government is actively practicing apartheid, a crime against humanity that is condemned by international law. The main question is whether it is possible to extend the meaning and legal definition of apartheid to be inclusive of a system that is perpetrating human rights violations, but not only in the strict sense of racial segregation as seen in South Africa. |
DedicationHRNK staff members and interns wish to dedicate this program to our colleague Katty Chi. A native of Chile and graduate of the London School of Economics, Katty became a North Korean human rights defender in her early 20s. Katty was chief of international affairs with the North Korea Strategy Center (NKSC) in Seoul from 2010 to 2014 and worked with the Seoul Office of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) from 2019 to 2020. A remarkable member of our small North Korean human rights community, Katty brought inspiration and good humor to all. Katty passed away in Seoul in May 2020, at the young age of 32. She is survived by her parents and brother living in Chile. With the YPWP series, we endeavor to honor Katty’s life and work. Archives
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