Lire la version en français / Hier auf Deutsch lesen/ Lea la versión en español
North Korea generally only makes international headlines when it lobs a missile near neighbors or sends weapons to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Such things are important news, for sure, but they’re usually presented without much context. Most notably, North Korea’s appalling human rights situation doesn’t get a mention.
Some may think: Well, why should it be mentioned? That’s a separate issue, right?
Wrong. These two things – North Korea’s arms programs and its human rights abuses – are, in fact, deeply linked.
Everyone knows North Korea is a human rights disaster zone. Third-generation dictator Kim Jong Un runs the country with totalitarian ferocity.
All basic liberties are denied. The government forces extreme obedience through torture, executions, brutal imprisonment, forced disappearances, and forced labor.
Backed by brutal repression, forced labor is used to support military programs crucial for arms production. This includes the development and production of missiles and nuclear weapons.
What’s more, the government diverts billions to arms programs at the expense of basic needs. This steamrollers other rights, like the right to food and health.
The government’s extreme human rights abuses and its weapons programs are very much interconnected.
This is something the international community has been gradually recognizing. Of course, the UN Security Council remains deadlocked on such matters. But the UN General Assembly has been taking the lead.
In a December resolution, the General Assembly stressed the link between North Korea’s grave human rights situation and its weapons programs. It called for a special high-level plenary session on North Korea.
That special session will happen at the UN General Assembly tomorrow, 20 May.
Hopefully, UN members will take this opportunity to up the pressure. Specifically, they should consider options for a standing UN body to address the connections between arms and abuses.
The body should further document how North Korea’s systemic rights violations increasingly threaten peace and security, not just on the Korean peninsula but worldwide. The body should be staffed by experts in international human rights and humanitarian law, weapons proliferation, and sanctions.
North Korea is one of those situations where international security and respect for human rights clearly go hand in hand. To worry about North Korea’s arms is to worry about North Korea’s abuses.
Let’s hope the UN General Assembly takes another step forward tomorrow in recognizing this situation for what it is.
