SEOUL, June 26 (AJP) - North Korean defectors recounted their harrowing journeys of escape and the plights they endured at an event in Seoul this week, informing international experts on human rights violations in the isolated country.
Hosted by the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul, the two-day event which kicked off on Thursday was part of the drafting process for a ten-year assessment of the human rights situation in North Korea.
The event brought together human rights experts, activists, journalists, and officials from related international organizations.
On the first day of the event, four defectors shared their personal stories of restrictions on fundamental freedoms, discrimination, limits on freedom of expression, and social control in North Korea.
“This ten-year assessment report was requested by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in April 2024 and will be presented by the High Commissioner later this year,” said James Heenan, head of the UN Human Rights Office in Seoul.
“The 2014 report covered the entire history of North Korea from the late 1940s to 2014, whereas this report will focus only on the past ten years,” Heenan explained.
Heenan added that the report is based primarily on firsthand information, with over 300 interviews conducted for the report.
“Some of these individuals have agreed to speak publicly today, and their testimonies will be taken into account as we finalize the report,” he said.
“Most North Koreans still don’t know how people live in other countries because access to the internet, foreign books, and videos is completely blocked,” she said.
She recalled being shocked when she discovered the truth about the regime.
“[North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un is deified as a leader who works selflessly for the people, and for 17 years I believed that. But when I learned the reality, I was devastated,” she said.
“Even now, many in North Korea don’t understand what freedom or human rights mean,” she added. “But I believe that if more people pay attention, it can help bring about change.”
reporter
Im Yoon-seo
lyseo0330@ajupress.com
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
View more comments