Why the Ministry of Unification's English report is meaningful to North Korean defectors

Lee Han-byeol, second from right, visited the Freedom Speakers International office in Seoul to discuss her participation in the organization. Others at the meeting were Peter Jung, head of Justice for North Korea (JFNK) and the co-founders of Freedom Speakers International, Lee Eun-koo and Casey Lartigue Jr. Courtesy of Casey Lartigue Jr.

By Lee Han-byeol

Lee Han-byeol speaking at the Ministry of Unification's release of the "2023 Report on North Korean Human Rights" on July 11th at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club. Yonhap

I defected from North Korea during the "Arduous March" when over three million people died from starvation and infectious diseases. After coming to South Korea, my mother was forcibly repatriated from China to North Korea twice, and my older brother was forcibly repatriated and sent to a political prisoner camp.

After I escaped to freedom, I began my activism for North Korean human rights.

Today, I would like to present the significance of the publication of the 2023 North Korean Human Rights Report from the perspective of a North Korean defector. It was extremely regrettable for us defectors that, despite the enactment of the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2016, the North Korean Human Rights Report was not released.

Even when the South Korean government abstained from the North Korean human rights resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, it took the position of the perpetrator instead of the victim, being extremely conscious of the North Korean regime.

The North Korean Human Rights Records Center, established in accordance with the North Korean Human Rights Act and funded by the national budget, was obligated to publish the North Korean Human Rights Report. However, due to fears of provoking North Korea, it has been classified as level 3 confidential information and has not been released. This was a non-humanitarian measure in stark contrast to the publication of the North Korean Human Rights Report by the international community, including the United Nations.

For us defectors who were sent from China to North Korea and suffered severe human rights violations in detention facilities such as detention centers, transit facilities, reeducation centers, and labor training units, the publication of the North Korean Human Rights Report by the Ministry of Unification carries significant meaning, even for the residents of North Korea who are still deprived of freedom and living under human rights abuses.

Defectors had their freedom taken away on North Korean soil earnestly welcome the publication of reports that shed light on the human rights situation in North Korea, as we have a heartfelt desire for our North Korean compatriots to gain their dignity and freedom as human beings.

Most defectors, including their families, are victims themselves. Even now, defectors and their families are forcibly repatriated and held in detention facilities, including political prisoner camps, living without knowing whether they are alive or dead. The North Korean human rights victims investigated by our organization endure not only the secret executions of their family members and illegal detentions, but also the torment of not knowing where they are being held or buried. I am one of those defectors. Particularly in North Korean detention facilities, there are ongoing human rights abuses, including the killing of infants, violations against children's rights, discrimination against women, and discrimination against disabled individuals.

In order to halt these cruel violations of North Korean human rights, it is necessary to record and preserve the voices and testimonies of the victims. Furthermore, through the documentation and publication of such materials, we must remind the perpetrators of their responsibility for crimes against humanity and the imminent need for criminal trials.

The publication of the 2023 North Korean Human Rights Report holds deep significance as it shows that the South Korean government recognizes the issue of North Korean human rights as a national responsibility and has not forgotten about it.

Moreover, it provides a solid foundation for the dissemination of the human rights situation in North Korea to the people of South Korea and the global community. As a civil society for North Korean human rights, we also have a responsibility to gather and research more. It is hoped that through the documentation and publication of North Korea's human rights records, the South Korean government can demonstrate that it has not turned a blind eye to these crimes against humanity committed by North Korea. Additionally, we hope that more cases of human rights abuses against defectors, including secret executions, illegal detentions and torture will be collected to facilitate a thorough investigation of North Korea's human rights abuses.

Ultimately, through the publication of the North Korean Human Rights Report and raising awareness of the human rights situation in North Korea, we hope for the dismantling of North Korean political prisoner camps, the protection of the rights of those imprisoned as political prisoners, and their eventual freedom.

We also hope that the English version of the recently published North Korean Human Rights Report will be widely known in the international community, leading to improvements in the international community's previous reluctance to address the issue of North Korean human rights.

Furthermore, we hope for continued international discourse on North Korean human rights, ensuring that the residents of North Korea can live dignified lifves with their freedom and human rights guaranteed.

The writer is the founding director of the Improving North Korean Human Rights Center (INKHR) and a Keynote Speaker with Freedom Speakers International (FSI). Her text was translated from Korean to English by FSI intern Kang Ju-sung and edited for publication by FSI co-founder Casey Lartigue Jr.