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The Independent
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Executions, forced labour and starvation persist in North Korea, UN official says
A decade after a landmark UN report found North Korea guilty of crimes against humanity, many abuses continue, a UN official has said. James Heenan, the UN human rights official, said that while North Korea has engaged more with some international bodies, it has tightened control over its population. Mr Heenan said he was still surprised by the continued prevalence of executions, forced labour and reports of starvation in the authoritarian country. Mr Heenan, who investigated rights in the isolated state, told Reuters in an interview that 'the post-Covid period for DPRK means a period of much greater government control over people's lives and restrictions on their freedoms', referring to North Korea 's official name (Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK). A follow-up UN report by Mr Heenan's team at the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in DPRK is expected later this year. North Korea has repeatedly rejected allegations of human rights abuses, claiming that the UN and foreign nations are using such accusations as political tools to undermine its government. The 2013 UN report into the human rights situation in North Korea stated: 'We heard from ordinary people who faced torture and imprisonment for doing nothing more than watching foreign soap operas or holding a religious belief.' 'Women and men who exercised their human right to leave the DPRK and were forcibly repatriated spoke about their experiences of torture, sexual violence, inhumane treatment and arbitrary detention. Family members of persons abducted from the Republic of Korea and Japan described the agony they endured ever since the enforced disappearance of their loved ones at the hands of agents of the DPRK,' said Michael Kirby, the then-chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK. A 2023 Reuters investigation revealed that during the Covid-19 pandemic, Kim Jong Un focused on constructing an extensive network of walls and fences along the once loosely controlled border with China, later extending similar barriers around Pyongyang. According to a new report from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Covid-19 spread in North Korea for over two years before the regime acknowledged its presence in May 2022, mishandling the crisis in ways that restricted basic freedoms and forced much of the population to survive without adequate support. In March this year, Human Rights Watch and Transitional Justice Working Group claimed Pyongyang implemented excessive and unnecessary measures to tackle Covid that made the 'already isolated country even more repressive'. On Wednesday, SI Analytics, a satellite imagery firm based in Seoul, reported that North Korea is renovating a major prison camp near the Chinese border, likely in reaction to global criticism, while also tightening physical control over inmates, disguised as infrastructure upgrades. Mr Heenan said that interviews with over 300 North Korean defectors revealed deep despair, with some even hoping for war to change the situation. 'Sometimes we hear people saying they sort of hope a war breaks out, because that might change things,' he said. Several of those interviewed will share their stories publicly for the first time next week. 'It's a rare opportunity to hear from people publicly what they want to say about what's happening in the DPRK,' Mr Heenan said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Executions, forced labour and starvation persist in North Korea, UN official says
A decade after a landmark UN report found North Korea guilty of crimes against humanity, many abuses continue, a UN official has said. James Heenan, the UN human rights official, said that while North Korea has engaged more with some international bodies, it has tightened control over its population. Mr Heenan said he was still surprised by the continued prevalence of executions, forced labour and reports of starvation in the authoritarian country. Mr Heenan, who investigated rights in the isolated state, told Reuters in an interview that 'the post-Covid period for DPRK means a period of much greater government control over people's lives and restrictions on their freedoms', referring to North Korea's official name (Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK). A follow-up UN report by Mr Heenan's team at the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in DPRK is expected later this year. North Korea has repeatedly rejected allegations of human rights abuses, claiming that the UN and foreign nations are using such accusations as political tools to undermine its government. The 2013 UN report into the human rights situation in North Korea stated: 'We heard from ordinary people who faced torture and imprisonment for doing nothing more than watching foreign soap operas or holding a religious belief.' 'Women and men who exercised their human right to leave the DPRK and were forcibly repatriated spoke about their experiences of torture, sexual violence, inhumane treatment and arbitrary detention. Family members of persons abducted from the Republic of Korea and Japan described the agony they endured ever since the enforced disappearance of their loved ones at the hands of agents of the DPRK,' said Michael Kirby, the then-chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK. A 2023 Reuters investigation revealed that during the Covid-19 pandemic, Kim Jong Un focused on constructing an extensive network of walls and fences along the once loosely controlled border with China, later extending similar barriers around Pyongyang. According to a new report from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Covid-19 spread in North Korea for over two years before the regime acknowledged its presence in May 2022, mishandling the crisis in ways that restricted basic freedoms and forced much of the population to survive without adequate support. In March this year, Human Rights Watch and Transitional Justice Working Group claimed Pyongyang implemented excessive and unnecessary measures to tackle Covid that made the 'already isolated country even more repressive'. On Wednesday, SI Analytics, a satellite imagery firm based in Seoul, reported that North Korea is renovating a major prison camp near the Chinese border, likely in reaction to global criticism, while also tightening physical control over inmates, disguised as infrastructure upgrades. Mr Heenan said that interviews with over 300 North Korean defectors revealed deep despair, with some even hoping for war to change the situation. 'Sometimes we hear people saying they sort of hope a war breaks out, because that might change things,' he said. Several of those interviewed will share their stories publicly for the first time next week. 'It's a rare opportunity to hear from people publicly what they want to say about what's happening in the DPRK,' Mr Heenan said.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Chinese asylum seeker avoids deportation after claiming support for Taiwanese independence
A Chinese asylum seeker has been allowed to stay in Britain because he 'cannot be expected to lie' about his support for Taiwanese independence. The unnamed man had claimed his attendance at pro-Taiwan rallies meant he would be persecuted by the Beijing government if he had to go back. An asylum judge ruled in his favour, concluding that the risk to pro-Taiwanese activists was 'far greater' than in 2022, when the refugee came to the UK. Judge Christopher Hanson said that the man would face questioning by officials if he was returned to China. 'If he is asked about what he has done in the UK, or in relation to any political activities, he cannot be expected to lie,' he said. Taiwan, which lies just off the coast of the mainland, was occupied by the nationalist government following the communist victory in 1949. Beijing regards it as a breakaway state that will eventually come under Chinese control, and tensions between the two have escalated in recent years. The case, disclosed in court papers, is the latest example uncovered by The Telegraph in which illegal migrants or convicted foreign criminals have been able to remain in the UK or halt their deportations after claiming returning them to their home countries would breach their human rights. Ministers are proposing to raise the threshold to make it harder for judges to grant the right to remain based on article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to a family life, and article three, which protects against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Chinese citizen, known as BK, claimed asylum in the UK in January 2022, but his case was dismissed by a lower tier immigration tribunal because he was deemed not high-profile enough to warrant protection. The 39-year-old then appealed to an upper tier tribunal in March this year. The hearing in Birmingham was told that BK had stated that he had been arrested twice because of his pro-Taiwanese beliefs. Since moving to the UK he had attended pro-Taiwanese events, the last of which was in 2022. He also posted his views on Facebook, yet the tribunal heard that there was 'very little evidence of serious engagement'. However, the tribunal was told the risk of persecution to pro-Taiwanese activists had greatly increased since that year. This was mainly down to international tensions and other separatist movements in Xinjiang and Tibet, prompting crackdowns by China. Last year, China launched military drills around Taiwan and even simulated a full-scale attack on the island nation. 'Credible risk of harm' Despite being a low-level activist, the tribunal believed that BK, who is also a Christian, could be prosecuted if he returned to China. Judge Hanson concluded: 'The risk of arrest for worshippers in unlicensed churches is also greater now than it was when BK was last in the country, and greater than it was in certain decisions and documents cited in his First-tier Tribunal hearing. 'I do conclude with a great degree of confidence that the risk to pro-Taiwanese activists in general is far greater than it was when he was last in China. 'Even if the authorities in China have no knowledge of BK's activities in the UK it is likely that on return he will be interviewed by the Chinese authorities. If he is asked about what he has done in the UK or in relation to any political activities he cannot be expected to lie. 'If he continues to express his pro-Taiwanese separatist beliefs, there is a real risk that the authorities in China will become aware. 'If they do, it is likely that further action will be taken against BK, which will increase in severity, especially if it transpires that he is ignoring earlier warnings and penalties, such that the authorities are likely to view him as having a high level of activity and posing a potential threat as a 'hard-line' separatist. 'I conclude that whilst BK may be able to be returned to China as he does not have the type of profile indicated in the report that will give rise to a real risk at this stage, there is a credible risk of harm sufficient to amount to persecution if he continues with his pro-Taiwanese activities in China, and is entitled to a grant of international protection.'
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel again included in UN blacklist for grave violations against children
The United Nations has kept Israel on its 'blacklist' of countries committing abuses against children in armed conflict for a second straight year, as its war on Gaza continues for nearly 20 months. The listing on Thursday came as the UN said in a new report that violence against children in conflict zones reached 'unprecedented levels' in 2024, with the highest number of violations committed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank by the Israeli army. The annual report on Children in Armed Conflict detailed 'a staggering' 25 percent surge globally in grave violations against children below the age of 18 last year from 2023. It said it had verified 41,370 grave violations against children, including killing and maiming, sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals. Among them were 8,554 grave violations against 2,959 children – 2,944 Palestinian, 15 Israeli – in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. The figure includes confirmation of 1,259 Palestinian children killed and 941 wounded in Gaza, which has come under relentless Israeli bombardment following an attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The Ministry of Health in Gaza has reported much higher figures, and the UN said it is currently verifying information on an additional 4,470 children killed in 2024 in the besieged territory. The UN said it has also verified the killing of 97 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, where a total of 3,688 violations were recorded. The report also called out Israel's military operations in Lebanon, where more than 500 children were killed or injured last year. UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was 'appalled by the intensity of grave violations against children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel', citing the widespread use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Guterres also reiterated his calls on Israel to abide by international law requiring special protections for children, protection for schools and hospitals, and compliance with the requirement that attacks distinguish between fighters and civilians and avoid excessive harm to innocent people. There was no immediate comment by Israel's UN mission. The armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, and the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, were also included in the blacklist for a second time. Following the Palestinian territory, the countries where the UN registered the most violence against children in 2024 were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (more than 4,000 grave violations); Somalia (more than 2,500); Nigeria (nearly 2,500); and Haiti (more than 2,200). The sharpest percentage increase in the number of violations was recorded in Lebanon (545 percent), followed by Mozambique (525 percent), Haiti (490 percent), Ethiopia (235 percent), and Ukraine (105 percent), it added.
NHK
4 hours ago
- Politics
- NHK
The fight to keep memories of Tiananmen incident alive
As the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident passes, pro-democracy advocates are fighting to keep memories of it alive as it remains taboo in China.
