[imText1]A human rights bill for North Korea was submitted once again to the 18th National Assembly. Grand National Party lawmaker Hwang Woo Yea and 22 others proposed the bill on July 4 before the opening of the 18th National Assembly. In the 17th National Assembly, the bill was not even placed on the agenda due to opposition from the former Roh Moo Hyun government and the then ruling Uri Party.
The proposed human rights bill was based on the original bill, and included suggestions from NGOs dedicated to North Korean human rights. Daily NK interviewed Rep. Hwang to ask about the bill on the opening day of the Assembly.
“The bill is about the South Korean government’s responsibility and duty to improve the human rights situation in North Korea,” Rep. Hwang said of the characteristics of the bill. The bill stipulates that the government has an obligation to attempt to improve human rights.
The bill has the following clauses: ▲ to create within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of South Korea a new post of human rights ambassador who will cooperate with the international community to improve the human rights situation in North Korea; ▲ to install a North Korean human rights advisory committee at the Ministry of Unification; ▲ to establish a North Korean Human Rights Record Depository within the National Human Rights Commission of Korea; ▲ to establish within the Ministry of Unification a project team which will handle the issues of POWs and abductees; ▲ to teach about the human rights situation in North Korea when providing education programs on unification issues; ▲ to resume broadcasts toward North Korea and provide financial support for private organizations that undertake such radio broadcasts; ▲ to increase support for NGOs dedicated to North Korean human rights.
When asked why he rushed to introduce the bill even before the opening of the 18th National Assembly, Rep. Hwang said, “Nothing is as urgent as the issue of North Korean human rights. We can procrastinate on other issues, but North Korean human rights problems must be addressed immediately because people are dying right now for God’s sake.”
Rep. Hwang anticipated that the bill would probably pass this time as President Lee is aware of the severity of the human rights situation in North Korea.
He said, “It would be shame on us if we fail to enact the North Korean human rights bill when other countries have already done so. The opposition party is concerned about a deadlock in inter-Korean relations. However, we should not defer from addressing issues of human rights as they are a matter of life and death. ”
Regarding the establishment of the North Korean Human Rights Record Depository, Rep. Hwang said, “Documenting human rights violations can be more powerful than punishing them. Documentation can help prevent further human rights violations.”
“We are trying to establish the depository within the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. Although the public sector has its own duties and responsibilities different from those of the private sector, it should cooperate with the latter if necessary,” Rep. Hwang said.
“Many newly elected lawmakers say that they would like to work to improve the human rights situations in North Korea and to help ease the difficulties of North Korean defectors,” Rep. Hwang said. He anticipated that his Grand National Party would work very actively to address the issues of North Korean human rights and North Korean defectors in the 18th National Assembly.
Names of the 23 lawmakers who sponsored the bill: Hwang Woo Yea, Han Sun Gyo. Yoo Ki Joon, Cho Jun Hyuk, Kim So Nam, Lee Kyung Jae, Kim Hyo Jae, Ky Bon Chul, Lee Han Sung, Song Yung Sun, An Sang Soo, Lee Jong Hyuk, Park Sang Don, Lee Wha Soo, Lee Jung Sun, Kim Sung Hoe, Hyun Kyung Byong, Yoon Sang Hyun, Lee Hak Jae, Jim Sung Ho, Jo Jin Hyung.
