• May 30, 2013
    North Korea should immediately reveal the whereabouts and well-being of nine North Korean refugees who were forced back to Pyongyang from Beijing on May 28 according to media reports, Human Rights Watch said today, emphasizing that the government must ensure that they are not punished for having fled the country. Under international law, individuals have the right not to be forcibly returned to a place where they face persecution.
  • Nov 8, 2010
    The United States should press for greater transparency and accountability in the global financial system at the G20 Summit meeting in Seoul, a coalition of civil society organizations said today. The G20 Advocacy Coalition brings together varied organizations that share the view that increased transparency is essential to promoting economic development, alleviating poverty, and realizing enjoyment of economic and social rights.

Reports

South Korea

  • May 30, 2013
    North Korea should immediately reveal the whereabouts and well-being of nine North Korean refugees who were forced back to Pyongyang from Beijing on May 28 according to media reports, Human Rights Watch said today, emphasizing that the government must ensure that they are not punished for having fled the country. Under international law, individuals have the right not to be forcibly returned to a place where they face persecution.
  • Apr 12, 2013
    As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making waves.
  • Dec 12, 2011

    On the eve of the 63rd anniversary of the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are writing to express to you our deep concern for the ongoing human rights abuses suffered by the people of North Korea, and the lack of action by the Republic of Korea’s National Assembly to address these conditions.

  • Nov 8, 2010
    The United States should press for greater transparency and accountability in the global financial system at the G20 Summit meeting in Seoul, a coalition of civil society organizations said today. The G20 Advocacy Coalition brings together varied organizations that share the view that increased transparency is essential to promoting economic development, alleviating poverty, and realizing enjoyment of economic and social rights.
  • Sep 17, 2010
    A sense of deja vu emanated from recent South-North border events: another imprisoned American left the North with a former U.S. president, and another South Korean was arrested upon return from the North for violating the National Security Law.
  • Aug 27, 2010
    In most countries, the typical penalty for an immigration offense like illegal entry is arrest, short-term detention and ultimately deportation, sometimes accompanied by a fine. But in North Korea, the penalty can be a lengthy prison term and a huge fine.
  • Aug 26, 2010
    What do athletes do after a humiliating defeat? Say, a 7-0 loss in a football match broadcast on national television?
  • May 17, 2010
    Imagine if the United Nations took money from Kim Jong-il and established a human rights award in his honor. No doubt many member states would be up in arms protesting such an outright mockery of the words “human rights.”
  • Jan 11, 2010
    The start of the New Year brought the news that the United States and South Korea had ended their travel bans against visitors living with HIV/AIDS. So surely we are celebrating the progress in these two countries, right? Not entirely.
  • Dec 1, 2009
    The South Korean government should maintain its principled stance and consistently include a strong human rights agenda in all future dealings with North Korea, Human Rights Watch and three other nongovernmental organizations said today in a letter to the South Korean unification minister, Hyun In-taek.