NK Human Rights Bill to Be Proposed Again
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A ruling party lawmaker, Hwang Woo-yea, pledged Saturday to resubmit a bill to the National Assembly to help improve the human rights of North Koreans shortly after the inauguration of the 18th legislature.
Rep. Hwang, in a statement, said ``Human rights are a universal value that need to be pursued beyond borders. It's time for the nation to adopt supportive legislative infrastructure to help move human rights in the North forward.''
His announcement came a day after Pyongyang destroyed a nuclear reactor tower, an event televised across the globe.
In 2006, former GNP lawmaker Kim Moon-soo, an incumbent governor of Gyeonggi Province, and 28 other lawmakers submitted a bill to enhance the human rights of North Koreans. Kim's move encountered obstacles as then ruling liberal Uri Party, which was the majority of the legislature, opposed the initiative. Since then, the initiative was dumped as the 17th legislature ended in May.
Rep. Hwang is one of 29 lawmakers who signed the North Korean human rights initiative. He brought up the miserable human rights situation of North Korean refugees and residents to help his colleagues in the National Assembly gain awareness of the issue.
Under the bill, a committee for the human rights of North Koreans and a human rights advisory committee would be installed at the Unification Ministry, with the creation of an official governmental policy on North Korean human rights.
Political analysts said chances for the passage of the bill are high as the conservative GNP controls the National Assembly, with 153 out of 299 lawmakers.