The heinous conditions faced by malnourished and overworked North Korean inmates in reeducation
camps has led to a growing number of deaths, according to a report released on
Thursday. Data from the paper reveals that prisoners within these facilities may be living in an
environment prone to egregious human rights violations– just as in political
prison camps.
Findings from the report were announced by
Lee Keum Soon, Director of the Center for North Korean Human Rights Studies at
the Korean Institute for National Unification [KINU], during a session on
the state of human rights in re-education camps at the 4th Chaillot Human Rights
Forum in Seoul.
The report is based on in-depth interviews
with 97 defectors who had been incarcerated at Chongori Re-education Camp in
Hoeryong, North Hamgyung Province, or Kaechon Re-education Camp in South
Pyongan Province up until 2013.
“Inmates are being provided with the bare
minimum for their meals from what we can tell, and the food supplies at the
camps are so poor that private meals brought by visiting families play a crucial role,” the director said.
“Visitation rules are extremely strict at
these camps, but it appears they allow private meals if portions are
donated to the facility itself. That food in turn seems to be used as
supplements for ailing prisoners and overall management,” she explained.
Lee emphasized that malnutrition peaked with the drop in visiting families
after November 2009, when the North carried out a failed currency reform and most residents lost their savings, until
early 2012.
“It’s not just
food; supplies that are essential in running the prison camps are not being
provided at all,” she said, adding, “Soap and other daily necessities are not being supplied; they even
rely on medicine brought in by visitors to hand out to the inmates.” Unable to provide the most basic of prison uniforms, clothing worn by prisoners at the time of incarceration is being altered as a makeshift alternative.
“If you suffer
from tuberculosis, malnutrition, or hepatitis, you are separated into a unit
for the sick, but the patients do not receive medication and are only exempt
from labor,” the director stated, based on the data from the white paper.
“Due to poor hygiene, chronic malnutrition,
and taxing labor, there are continual deaths,” she
said. “The leading cause of death is malnutrition, and
among diseases, tuberculosis causes the most fatalities.”
Despite the extreme human rights violations
prisoners face, correctional officers and security guards not only turn a blind
eye, they further regulate and oppress the inmates, according to Lee.
“Rules for labor and everyday life are
extremely strict, and if anyone commits the tiniest slip up contrary to the rules, they face immediate punishment,” the
director said. One example she introduced involved a female inmate mobilized
for farm work who fell out of line due to menstruation. The prisoner was
accused of trying to flee by guards overseeing the site and beaten as a result.
“If someone fails to do their
work, or if they go against the rules, the entire unit is either deprived of
sleep or faces brutal punishment or battery,” Lee said.
“This serves as a mechanism to induce prisoners to
assault fellow inmates who disobey commands.”
The director also pointed out that after
surviving through forced labor and malnutrition, prisoners face more human
rights violations after their return to society.
“Some people consider life in prison a
given under the belief that ‘criminals’ need to punished for breaking the law, or just the fact that they
were incarcerated serves as justification for social discrimination even after
their release,” she said. “This
not only affects the inmates, but it also has a negative effect on the songbun
[family political background and loyalty] of the family.”
As to how to improve human rights violations
within re-education camps, Lee stated, “The best
scenario would be for North Korea to improve its facilities and rules of
management within the prison camps based on international standards.” She added, “The international community
must roll up its sleeves and increase its efforts so that North Korea tries to
create a body or organization able monitor its own human rights within the
re-education camp system.”
North Korean re-education camps hold
political prisoners, economic criminals, and violent offenders together. A management office of the Ministry of People’s Safety oversees the facilities; treatment and conditions there are said to differ little from that of political prison camps.
At least one re-education camp per province in North Korea is estimated to be in operation currently. During their period of
imprisonment, inmates face myriad human rights violations and are stripped of
all their rights as citizens.
