Aid to North Korea important despite growing tension

By Rachel Lee

Providing humanitarian aid to North Korea is important despite the worsening tension on the Korean Peninsula, but aid reaching those for whom it is intended remains a challenge, says the head of the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) Seoul.

"Giving life-saving humanitarian aid to those in urgent need of such assistance is important, and it must be done in a way that respects human rights," Signe Poulsen told The Korea Times last week.

"The U.N. agencies that work to deliver humanitarian aid in North Korea point to urgent humanitarian needs among the most vulnerable population."

OHCHR opened its office in Seoul in June, 2015 to monitor how human rights in North Korea were being respected, and to work with relevant governments, civil society and other parties to promote and protect human rights.

The Seoul office has since monitored and documented the human rights situation in the North Korea.

The office's mandate also includes working with governments, civil society and other parties to enhance their capacity to promote and protect human rights in North Korea and maintain awareness of the human rights situation in the country through advocacy and communication. The U.N. applies a human rights-based approach when providing humanitarian aid, and signed with North Korea a strategic framework for such cooperation between2017 and 2021.

"This may mean an emphasis on reaching those with the greatest needs, making sure that aid is distributed without discrimination, and that the aid reaches those for whom it is intended," Poulsen said.

"The context in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea makes this a challenge, and there is a need for those who provide humanitarian assistance to take measures to ensure that their efforts are based on human rights principles and standards."

Poulsen said the human rights framework applied to all people at all times _ in war and in peace.

To raise the importance of human rights, OHCHR Seoul has come up with various ways, including through interviewing people who have left North Korea, researching the situation there and raising awareness about the human rights situation in the North.

Based on challenges facing the country, OHCHR also offers technical assistance to help improve the human rights situation inside the country.

For example, North Korea has recently submitted reports on its implementation of the Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the rights of the Child (CRC).

The committees that consider these reports will offer recommendations for follow up and further action to improve the human rights situation of women and children. The OHCHR can assist the government to address such recommendations.

Poulsen said the primary responsibility for securing the human rights of citizens rested with the government of a country.

"While the North Korean government has taken steps towards addressing some areas of human rights, there are other areas in which we continue to have grave concerns," she said. "These include the situation in the country's detention facilities."

Since the office opened two years ago, the organization has continued to receive reports about serious violations of human rights in North Korea.

The reports ranged from allegations of torture and ill-treatment to deprivation of food and inhumane conditions. Independent international human rights monitors do not have access to places of detention.

In addition, the absence of independent human rights defenders in North Korea, and the severe restrictions on freedom of expression, association and movement limit the information available.

"We are also concerned that trials do not appear to meet minimum standards of fairness," Poulsen said.

"The severe restrictions on the right to access information, to freely express one's opinions, and to travel within and outside the country are also of concern.

"When people are unable to express concern about problems affecting them, it becomes difficult to find solutions to such problems.

"North Korea should address these very serious human rights violations."

North Korea has ratified several important human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and human rights treaties pertaining to the rights of women, children and people with disabilities.

Poulsen said she believed the international community could offer guidance and advice in implementing all the provisions in these treaties, so that the rights became a "reality" for all people living in the country.

At the same time, the grave violations of human rights, including allegations of violations amounting to crimes against humanity documented in the report of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry in 2014, should also be addressed, she said.

"Officials who are found to have committed serious violations of human rights must be held accountable," she said.

"This is important to restore the dignity and rights of victims, to send a clear message that violations of human rights are not acceptable, and to ensure non-repetition of such violations."

The Moon Jae-in administration in South Korea decided last month to provide $8 million in humanitarian aid, which is in line with Moon's faith that politics should not affect aid for the North's health care and medical programs.

But the plan became controversial because of the timing. The announcement was made a day before North Korea fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) and it was found that Cheong Wa Dae detected signs of the IRBM test hours before making the announcement.

The government said aid would be delivered via the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund, but the specific date has not been confirmed.

Poulsen, who obtained her M.Sc in human rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science, worked for human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, before joining the U.N. in 2005.

She worked in various capacities in Liberia, Timor-Leste, Kyrgyzstan and Papua New Guinea. In 2015, she was appointed OHCHR Seoul representative.