Human Rights Must Be on the Table During U.S.-North Korea Talks

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, addresses the Assembly’s annual general debate. Credit: UN Photo/Cia PakBy Tharanga YakupitiyageUNITED NATIONS, Jun 8 2018 (IPS)Human rights issues must be included in next week’s United States-North Korea summit in order to create a “sustainable agreement”, said a UN expert. In an effort towards denuclearization, U.S. President Trump is set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.In anticipation of the summit, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tomás Ojea Quintana called for human rights issues to be a topic of discussion.“At some point, whether [in] the next summit or other summits to come or meetings, it is very important that human rights are raised,” Quintana said.“I am not of the opinion that a human rights dialogue will undermine the opening and the talks on denuclearization at all,” he added.Instead, DPRK’s participation in a discussion on human rights will give them “credibility” and “show that they want to become a normal state.”While they have signed and ratified several human rights treaties, North Korea remains one of the most repressive, authoritarian states in the worldA 2014 UN report found systematic, gross human rights violations committed by the government including forced labor, enslavement, torture, and imprisonment.It is estimated that up to 120,000 people are detained in political pr...
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