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Ruling Saenuri Party chair Hwang Woo Yea has welcomed the establishment of a UN commission to investigate state-sanctioned human rights violations in North Korea.
Speaking earlier today at a press conference held by International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) at Seoul Press Center, Hwang noted, “The COI does not stop at gathering information and getting victim testimony, it reveals those responsible for human rights violations and can lead to punishment.”
“The establishment of this COI is a historic event,” he added. “The international community agreed to the establishment of the COI because North Korea’s human rights abuses are organized by the regime and have been going on for over 60 years. The National Assembly will respond positively to requests from the COI.”
Meanwhile, former Minister of Unification Kim Seok Woo stated in his congratulatory remarks at the event, “If the investigation shows that Kim Jong Eun has been responsible for crimes then he could be sanctioned by the international community, just like Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir or President Qaddafi of Libya.”
Kim added, “The international community takes North Korea’s serious human rights abuses as established facts, and is looking for a solution. That’s where the focus is.”
Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae Kyung, who was a leading light in the fight to get a COI, stated, “North Korea is under the impression that if they do not cooperate with human rights investigations then [abuses] will not be confirmed, but the truth is quite different. The UN mechanism is to accept as fact those things that they refuse to confirm.”
“The situation may vary if North Korea cooperates with the COI, but if they do not cooperate then it will only promote legal action in the International Criminal Court (ICC),” he noted.
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