South Korea’s human right watchdog said Sunday that it would urge the government to amend a decree enabling the authorities to “interfere” with local entities’ efforts to gather information on North Kora’s human right abuses.
National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced that it had concluded on Thursday that some provisions of the decree infringe upon independent agencies’ authority to access records because they are required to consult with the government before gathering due information.
According to the Clause 3, Article 13 of the decree, local and public agencies shall consult with the Minister of Unification Ministry before gathering information about the reclusive regime’s human rights condition from North Korean defectors.
North Korea leader Kim Jong-un. Yonhap
The decree is designed to implement the North Korea Human Right Act, which was signed into law on March 3 after decades-long debate over the measures’ effectiveness. The law requires the government to set up a center tasked with investigating Pyongyang’s human right abuses by collecting relevant information.
During the Thursday meeting, the human right commission reportedly agreed that the provision should be deleted because “it would undermine independent authority of organizations and hinder the effort to improve North Korea’s human right condition.”
The organization also recommended changes to Clause 1, Article 6 of the decree that requires the government to elect an “ambassador” to foster international cooperation on the issue. The committee said that the provision should be more specific about the qualification.
The Unification Ministry plans to gather public opinion and promote the law until June 8. The law is slated to take effect on Sept. 4.
By Yeo Jun-suk (
jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)