ID :
20868
Tue, 09/23/2008 - 23:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/20868
The shortlink copeid
Human rights watchdog to create North Korea committee
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- The National Human Rights Commission said Tuesday
that it has decided to create a special committee examining human rights
conditions in North Korea in a move to start tackling the politically sensitive
issue.
The policy appears to be in line with the conservative government's initiative to
get tough on the North's alleged human rights abuses. Critics have accused the
human rights watchdog of overlooking North Korea in previous liberal
administrations to avoid possible political friction with the North, even as the
international community has made repeated criticisms.
"The government should make consistent efforts to cooperate with the
international community to bring substantial improvements to the human rights
condition in North Korea," the watchdog said in a statement.
The human rights commission, established in 2001 as a presidential arm under the
initiative of Nobel Peace laureate and then President Kim Dae-jung, has played a
major role in monitoring human rights abuses by government authorities and
enhancing the rights of unprivileged people like the disabled, minorities and
foreign migrant workers.
The watchdog created an ad hoc North Korean committee in 2006, but its operation
lasted only for months.
The new special committee will be commissioned to examine issues inside North
Korea, as well as in South Korea and China regarding defectors. The watchdog's
chief, Ahn Kyong-hwan, will appoint three to five members for the committee next
month, it said.
Officials cautioned, however, against using the North's human rights issue to
pressure Pyongyang. North Korea denounces outside concern about its rights
condition as interference with its domestic affairs.
"Human rights are a universal value, but there are differences in the way that
each country implements it. We are not supposed to judge North Korea without
acknowledging its distinctive character," Cho Young-kuk, the commission's
official preparing the special committee, said.
that it has decided to create a special committee examining human rights
conditions in North Korea in a move to start tackling the politically sensitive
issue.
The policy appears to be in line with the conservative government's initiative to
get tough on the North's alleged human rights abuses. Critics have accused the
human rights watchdog of overlooking North Korea in previous liberal
administrations to avoid possible political friction with the North, even as the
international community has made repeated criticisms.
"The government should make consistent efforts to cooperate with the
international community to bring substantial improvements to the human rights
condition in North Korea," the watchdog said in a statement.
The human rights commission, established in 2001 as a presidential arm under the
initiative of Nobel Peace laureate and then President Kim Dae-jung, has played a
major role in monitoring human rights abuses by government authorities and
enhancing the rights of unprivileged people like the disabled, minorities and
foreign migrant workers.
The watchdog created an ad hoc North Korean committee in 2006, but its operation
lasted only for months.
The new special committee will be commissioned to examine issues inside North
Korea, as well as in South Korea and China regarding defectors. The watchdog's
chief, Ahn Kyong-hwan, will appoint three to five members for the committee next
month, it said.
Officials cautioned, however, against using the North's human rights issue to
pressure Pyongyang. North Korea denounces outside concern about its rights
condition as interference with its domestic affairs.
"Human rights are a universal value, but there are differences in the way that
each country implements it. We are not supposed to judge North Korea without
acknowledging its distinctive character," Cho Young-kuk, the commission's
official preparing the special committee, said.
