[imText1]The DailyNK met Therese Jebsen of The Rafto Foundation, a Norwegian human rights organization, who attended the 6th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees, held in Seoul. Rafto Foundation will be hosting the 7th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees next year.
The Rafto Foundation awards one person a year with the Rafto Prize who contributed to the human rights development in the international society. Kim Dae Jung received the Rafto Prize in 2000, only few months before he was awarded with the Nobel Prize.
Ms. Jebsen expressed she feels responsibility to care about human rights in North Korea, the country that challenges against the universal value of human rights.
The following is the interview with There Jebsen, secretary general of The Rafto Foundation.
Please tell us more about the Egil Rafto House.
The Egil Rafto House Foundation (Rafto Foundation) was established by Thorolf Rafto in 1997, in memory of his father Egil Rafto, who was a journalist and human rights advocator. Currently the foundation has an office located in Bergen, Norway, where it has its human rights committee. There, they do a many human rights education activities and collecting and providing human rights information.
Rafto Foundation has been decided to be the host of the 7th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees next year. What is the reason this conference is held in Norway?
I have been requested to be the host for the conference from its sponsor, The Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, and we gladly accepted the request. We are very much interested in North Korean human rights. We will be hosting the conference together with the Human Rights House in Bergen and Oslo.
When did you become interested in North Korean human rights issue?
In 1999, understanding the oppressive government in North Korea, we looked for a North Korean who has contributed in improving human rights to award the Rafto Prize, but we could not find anyone. The fact that human rights situation in North Korea is bad but there is no one fighting to improve the situation actually made us become more interested in North Korean human rights issues. In 1999, our representatives visited Seoul to interview North Korean defectors and since then we are very much interested in North Korean human right issues.
What was the reason why the Rafto House chose Kim Dae Jung to award him the Rafto Prize in 2000?
In 2000, we awarded President Kim Dae Jung based on his human rights activities and his effort to changed North Korea. We highly valued his policy to open up North Korea. We expected his policy to have a focus on North Korean human rights and we thought what he did was the only way to bring change in North Korea. However, the government of South Korea does not raise human rights issues to North Korea. This is not right.
There are many criticisms on the current South Korean government’s disinterest toward the North Korean human rights.
Yes, that is a good point. There is a problem that the government silences about human rights issues in North Korea. We want people to pay a lot of attention to North Korean human rights. For this reason, South Korean human rights organizations must voice about North Korean human rights issues no matter what without compromising to anything.
How much interest do people of Norway have about North Korean human rights?
Human rights organizations know well about the seriousness of North Korean human rights. Not many people in Norway are interested in North Korean human rights problem, but we are working to increase awareness. Currently, we are in the production of a documentary on the reality of North Korean human rights. There has been a recent report on the public execution of 60 people in North Korea. We are planning to engage in this issue as well.
What do you think is the position the South Korean people should take regarding North Korean human rights?
We want to hear the voices of the South Korean people and we have to get more information on North Korea. Then we have to spread it to the outside world. (Ms. Jebsen asked the reporter what South Korean people did to build awareness about North Korean human rights in South Korea, and the reporter could not say much about it.)
We are voicing out ourselves. This has nothing to do with governments. This has nothing to do with American policies. We have moral obligation and we are very worried. Therefore, we feel the responsibility to act.
Anything you would like to say to South Korean people?
Human Rights are universal. This is why it is above culture or personal background. North Korean human rights violations are extreme. All of us must be interested.
