North Korea's Human Rights: Report & Recommendations - Essay Sample

Introduction

Human rights are various standards that seek to guard human beings from any exploitation. Every country gets to implement different human rights to ensure its' citizens get well natured. Violation of these human rights by any of the citizens is termed as human abuse and may result in a jail sentence. In my paper, I will get to report on the current state of North Korea's engagement with human rights and give recommendations on what needs to be improved.

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As of now, North Korea has ratified various human rights treaties. These include; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) , the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the Sale of the Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, the Marrakesh treaty to facilitate access to published work for the persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

On the other hand, international human treaties for which North Korea is not a signatory to include; the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right aiming to the abolition of the death penalty, the International Labor Organization Convention, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

This enables North Korea to continue in its ways of subjecting humans to forced labor, and in turn, there is free labor readily available. Not signed in to Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on the other hand and allows the wardens to be extremely cruel to the detainees without breaking any law. It also provides punishment of law offenders by hanging to death. Besides, not signing in to the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict allows the government to take advantage of the young men and forcefully drive them into the military.

North Korea is a member of various international human rights bodies such as the United Nations Children's' Fund, United Nations, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women. It is also a member of regional organizations such as the Asia Pacific broadcasting union and ASEAN Regional Forum. As a member of the UN, North Korea served no significant role as the seat of the United Nations Security Council got held by South Korea.

In the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union, however, North Korea acts as the administration. This implies that it is in charge of military signing, exercises, and approvals. As a member of the United Nations Children's' Fund, its primary role focussed on boosting the nutrition of its people, provision of safe drinking water, and increasing access of the citizens to essential medicines. Its' role in ASEAN Regional Forum got to be to actualize its international human rights obligations and reinforce its local legal framework.

Despite the country's vast knowledge of their human rights and the establishment of various rules to maintain them, there are occasions when citizens or the rulers faced the tribunal for committing multiple human rights offenses. A case in time is when their leader got charged with going against the people's right to food. The situation in the country was that food rations were taken away for up to nine months. This cut across to even workers in the factories. The workers remained at home weak, defeated by hunger, and could not show up for work. It got decided that the people's right to food granted to them; thus, finally, they gathered the strength to go back to work.

Also, the leaders appeared before the tribunal for abusing of children's rights. It got observed that young men in North Korea undergo 13 good years of compulsory military service. During this period, they get involuntarily passed through gruesome training. This signifies that the meaningful and productive season in their lives when they should be developing themselves and enriching their lives is scaled down tremendously. This case, however, got ruled in favor of the ruler since they are not a signatory to any treaties that prohibit it. The rulers advised them though to consider signing into the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

There was also the case against the prison wardens for the cruel treatment of the detainees. This goes against the human right to life since some g tortured mercilessly, leading to them succumbing to death. This being the case, it g decided that North Korea should be a signatory to Convention Against Torture (C.A.T) and take instant measures to halt the use of torture for all prisoners.

Besides, the case against the rulers subjecting their people to manual labor got presented in front of the tribunal. A subjective job is a form of abuse of human rights. The rulers saw it as a means to eradicate the need to pay for a job. People were working forcefully in industries without proper pay and proper working conditions. The tribunal ruled against the rulers, but the country didn't sign any treaty to affirm it; thus, it not put to place. Treaties, however, suggested to them include; the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) and the International Labor Organization Convention, They also got advised to strengthen the independence of the judiciary

Various DPR Korea recommendations are suggested to North Korea by the treaty bodies for the sustaining of their human rights. These include; to accomplish the internationally taken responsibilities and to consider the signing of international human rights instruments to which it is still not a party. Moreover, to join new human rights international mechanisms. They should take into consideration accepting the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) and carry on with the determinations towards cooperating with the distinctive procedures of the Human Rights Council and with the treaty bodies. They should also, as a country, establish an independent NHRI and an effective complaint mechanism for the adequate flow of information.

The country has all the resources to carry out the suggested recommendations. It, however, lacks a steadfast political will. If only the rulers saw the need for change and took the initiative to accomplish them, then most recommendations would be made by now. Some of these measures have been suggested to North Korea over diplomatic meetings time and again. The governance should get more of a democracy so that the people's personal needs get achieved.

Institutions put in place to protect human rights in the country include; the National Defence Commission, the Supreme People's Assembly, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). hiThe NDC's central role in influencing policy making and is in charge of both internal and external security. There are also correctional institutions that help rehabilitate previous human rights offenders and impact with other skills. These institutions work hand in hand with the government. This then ensures that no time wasted on endless conflicts.

North Korea tends to carry out its affairs on its own. This creates a wall and prevents any other countries from chipping in and helping its situation. NGOs have consistently reported the endless state of violations of human rights in North Korea. Still, nothing can get done since the government controls every single operation down to the end. Starvation cases are reported year after year, but all media outlets g censored; thus, the information never reaches the relevant authorities. The citizens' cell phones operate on an internal network preventing them from sharing news with anyone from the outside. This rule, however, does not apply to the rulers; thus, yet again they are in control. The legal culture of the country is majorly at fault.

Conclusion

In conclusion, North Korea is in constant violation of some human rights. These include the right to life, the right to food, children's rights, and the right to communication. This can be, however, altered by the indulging of the country in signing various treaties, thus makes them bounded by law. North Korea should consider having open dialogues with other countries and also its citizens concerning human rights.

References

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Meernik, J., Aloisi, R., Sowell, M., & Nichols, A. (2012). The impact of human rights organizations on naming and shaming campaigns. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 56(2), 233-256.

O'Byrne, D. (2014). Human rights: An introduction. Routledge.

Ryang, S. (Ed.). (2013). Koreans in Japan: Critical voices from the margin. Routledge.

Social media, political change, and human rights. BC Int'l & Comp. L. Rev., 35, 145. Martin's Press.