The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (Chairperson, Hyun Byung-chul) hosted a debate under the title of "International Trend on North Korean Human Rights and North Korea's Strategy and Response" on 27 November, 2014.
On November 18, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on North Korean human rights which includes submitting COI report to the UN Security Council, imposing sanctions on those who are responsible for human rights infringements which equivalent to crimes against humanity, and referring North Korean human rights to the International Criminal Court.
The NHRCK organized the debate in order to let people know about unusual international trends on North Korean human rights and to change Korean people's perception on North Korean human rights.
Chairperson Hyun Byung-chul said in his opening speech that North Korea's active response to movement of international community shows that North Korea no longer can ignore demands of the international community. He added that adoption of the North Korean resolution should be an opportunity for us to devise tangible measures domestically.
At the debate, legislators from both ruling and opposition party who carry out active debate on enactment of North Korean human rights act participated and also delivered congratulatory remarks.
During the first and second session of the debate, which were titled "International trends on North Korean human rights issues and North Korea's strategy and response" and "Truth of the human rights report published by the Chosun Human Rights Research Association", respectively, concept of human rights and human rights protection system in North Korea were analyzed in comparison with universal human rights standard of the international community, and characteristics and problems were discussed.
The NHRCK wishes that the forum can serve as an opportunity for Korean society to raise awareness on North Korean human rights and to deeply think about practical measures to improve North Korean human rights.
