[imText1]The “North Korea Human Rights Resolution” that took 2 years to be collated and passed by the U.N. is raising serious questions throughout the world.
The resolution required many efforts by various parties including one advocate Elizabeth Batha of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
For the past 7 years, Elizabeth Batha has been working alongside the U.N. for the greater awareness of North Korea human rights and recently visited Korea in preparations for a report on North Korean human rights, to be presented next year February. The DailyNK interviewed Batha on the 26th.
Through the report, Batha hopes that a plan will be devised tackling the issue of North Korean human rights specifically, through international law. Rather than simply talking, she said that she will try to realistically improve North Korean human rights by devising a plan through legislation research.
Batha recollected the time when she met defectors and commented on the traumatic stories she had encountered. She said that never in her life had she heard such miserable experiences and said it was unjustifiable for an international lawyer to be uninterested on such issues.
In the interview, Batha stressed the important role of the U.N. in actively steering the improvement of the human rights situation in North Korea. She revealed her personal dismay at the actions of the U.N. Human Rights Committee and commented that though it is unknown how much action will be enforced in the future, she expressed hope that the grave oppression of North Korean human rights would be recognized and consequently action taken.
Batha also stated that a more realistic and explicit plan needed to be prepared in case North Korea did not cooperate with the U.N. Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights and said that it was time for the Secretary-General to step in and take action. She also expressed deep concern for the serious mistreatment of Christians in North Korea.
Though Batha could not number specific figures, she said that the violations against Christians in North Korea was severe and extensive, and said that the mistreatment of Christians in North Korea was likely to be one of the cruelest acts on earth, if not the worst.
