“There is nothing more important for the North Korean people than the right to access information,” Kim Tae Hun, a non-permanent member of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) stated today.
Kim was speaking after the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) passed a recommendation yesterday urging the National Assembly to enact the North Korean Human Rights Law and guarantee the North Korean people’s right to access external information.
The recommendations contain support for the distribution of leaflets inside North Korea and the provision to NGOs of short- and medium-wave frequencies owned by the government. The recommendations had been previously submitted by Kim Tae Hun and the other five committee members, but were rejected in a plenary meeting of the NHRCK in August for fear of inciting North Korea.
However, the recommendation was passed in a meeting of the NHRCK yesterday afternoon, partly due to a standing committee reshuffle carried out early in December.
Since NHRCK had been criticized in some quarters in the past for its leftist tendencies and disinterest in North Korean human rights issues, this move is quite significant.
The Daily NK met with Kim Tae Hun, who submitted the draft to NHRCK, to learn about the recommendation and its significance.
– Why did the NHRCK deal with the North Korean people’s right to access information?
There is nothing more important for the North Korean people than the right to access information. They can come to realize the reality of their human rights when they know external information. We cannot engage in warfare with North Korea. As the best way to reform the North Korean human rights situation in a non-military way, access to information is the key.
– Does this show a shift in the NHRCK stance on North Korean human rights?
On April 20th, the NHRCK recommended that the National Assembly enact the North Korean Human Rights Law. Since then they have delayed the enactment of the law, so this time we are expressing the view that it inadequate to delay it constantly. We need to raise our voice as an organization overseeing human rights when the National Assembly delays its enactment.
– What do you think about the claim that the reshuffled NHRCK committee is now generally biased towards conservatives?
Before human rights issue there are no conservatives or progressives. We are looking at only human rights. North Korean people are also our people according to the constitution. Since the North Korean human rights situation is so dire, do we need to divide into conservatives and progressives? I can’t understand why they consider agreeing with efforts on North Korean human rights improvement as conservatives while disagreeing with it as progressives. It is nonsense that progressives ignore North Korean human rights since this means going forward.
