On September 4, Seoul’s North Korean Human Rights Act came into effect for
the first time. It is a landmark achievement 11 years in the making, as the act
was first introduced during the 17th session of the National Assembly in 2005.
Considerable efforts were made over the past 11 years in order to reach this
milestone. Although it is an important first step, vigilance and determination
are needed to ensure that the intended outcomes of the law are realized.
During its formulation, Seoul’s North Korea policy was developed and modified
through extensive negotiations between parties with diverse interests and
perspectives. The current opposition party has fundamentally opposed its
enactment as it proposes to instead negotiate with and provide further aid to
North Korea. Despite its turbulent beginnings, the goal of the Act is to
promote the awareness and protection of human rights in North Korea. However,
in order to achieve lasting effects, a number of important aspects must be
considered.
The first is the ability to remain independent from political wrangling in
South Korean politics. In March, as the North Korean Human Rights Act made its
way through the national assembly, the basics of the Act were still being
discussed by the Ministry of Unification with the support of an advisory group
and the North Korea Human Rights Foundation. Although the foundation’s
12-member board of directors consists of 5 nominated members from each of the
ruling and opposition parties and 2 non-partisan members from the government,
it is essential towards ensuring the act’s success that political partisanship
be put aside in achieving the stated aims. With next year’s presidential
election on the horizon, both parties are likely to be tempted to use the Human
Rights Act as a platform for political gain, which may in turn distort public
opinion and support for the law. Human rights must not in this way become the
subject of politically-charged debate, as it is in the interests of humanity to
protect basic freedoms and common decency. The priority must be to remain
focused on improving the rights of North Korean citizens.
Secondly, the law must more clearly define under what requirements an
individual is classified as a ‘North Korean citizen’. The 3rd amendment of the
Act defines this as limited to “anyone residing north of the DMZ as well as the
families, spouses, workers, etc. living in that territory.” Thus the verbiage
defines a citizen according to current residence in the North. This would mean
that all North Korean citizens currently residing in China or other countries
will not be afforded the protections of this law. However, according to the
South Korean constitution, North Korean citizens are clearly considered to be
South Korean citizens as well, and this includes those residing in a 3rd
country who have not become naturalized citizens of that nation. Therefore the
definition of a North Korean citizen as delineated by the law should instead
read as those ‘residing north of the DMZ and maintaining a life there or those
who have done so in the past’. In addition, there have been demands to reform
statutes on the rights of those North Korean citizens residing in third
countries by supplementing the North Korean defectors resettlement aid law.
However, such outcomes cannot be expected according to the current wording of the
law, especially if there is resistance from opposition party members within the
North Korean Human Rights Foundation towards aiding those defectors currently
residing in a 3rd country.
Third, it is imperative to provide greater support for those defectors already
living in South Korea today. Even with ongoing efforts towards reunification,
our support for the defectors presently residing in South Korea is of vital
importance. In the event of regime collapse in the North, in order to persuade
the North Korean populace of the merits of democracy as the preferred
alternative system, we must first consider them as trusted and valued citizens
and provide them with ample information about life in South Korea. The
defectors currently living in South Korea can effectively communicate with and
temper the expectations of new defectors. However, if the defector community
continues to feel alienated and ignored in our society today, they will not be
inclined to promote a fitting image of life in South Korea, stalling hopes for
reunification.
Finally, the most pressing issue is that the law needs to serve as a tool to
enlighten as many as possible about the human rights violations being
perpetrated by the North Korean regime. North Korea is a totalitarian state
that attacks the dignity and freedom of its people just as George Orwell
depicted in his novel 1984. The government of North Korea, by shutting out
information from the outside world to the point where its citizens are not even
aware of the concepts of freedom and human rights, has sought to enforce
unwavering loyalty from the people. The reason why North Koreans remain captive
by the regime’s brainwashing is primarily due to a lack of outside information
with which they can compare. The most basic aim of the North Korean Human
Rights Act is to awaken in North Koreans an authentic yearning for freedom and
democracy. South Korea must fulfill its role in leading the charge to help the
North Korean people through this law, by promoting the ideals of freedom and human
rights to the North Korean people.
The North Korean authorities are evidently disturbed by the implementation of
the Act, as evident in recently published vitriol directed at the South Korean
government. On September 1st last year, a spokesman for the North’s Society for
Measures Against Human Rights Abuses in South Joseon (South Korea) criticized
the Human Rights Act as “absurd and futile, like trying to break a rock
with an egg”. However, we can be confident that a better future for the people
of North Korea is inevitable. Thus, the implementation of the Human Rights Act
is the necessary first step towards the ‘unconventional normalization’ of North
Korea.
*Views expressed in Guest Columns do not necessarily reflect those of Daily NK.
