The past weeks have seen a flurry of activity in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and human rights abuses. Notably, consensus seems to be building among international actors on the linkage between North Korea’s treatment of its own people and the security threat it poses to Asia and beyond.
The past weeks have seen a flurry of activity in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and human rights abuses. Notably, consensus seems to be building among international actors on the linkage between North Korea’s treatment of its own people and the security threat it poses to Asia and beyond.
- Congress passed a new North Korean sanctions bill with overwhelming bipartisan support that President Obama signed into law. The legislation ties sanctions to both the regime’s nuclear weapons program and its human rights abuses.
- The UN Security Council, with China’s cooperation, just imposed stricter sanctions on North Korea. These new sanctions target the North Korean elite along with revenue sources that fuel Pyongyang’s weapons program. Days earlier, a UN special rapporteur called on the body’s Human Rights Council to put DPRK leader Kim Jong Un on notice that he and other officials could be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.
- South Korea passed its first ever North Korea Human Rights law. Historically, South Koreans have been deeply divided on the best path forward with North Korean. However, Pyongyang’s recent provocations spurred the law’s passage as it reinforces the ties between human rights and national security.
In late February, the Bush Institute cosponsored an event on North Korea Human Rights and the Security Nexus in Washington D.C. Amanda Schnetzer, Director of our Human Freedom initiative, opened the conference with a message from President Bush:
…The North Korean people are terrorized by fear, torture, deprivation, and political prison camps. Missile and weapons tests like those in recent weeks are meant to terrorize North Korea’s neighbors and the world. The two are closely connected.
Like many of you, the Bush Institute is focused on helping improve the lives of the North Korean people—both those who have escaped, and those who remain behind Pyongyang’s iron curtain. We believe that better integrating human rights issues with the mainstream security strategy is part of the answer is in our national interest. Addressing one of the greatest human tragedies and security threats of our time should unite us all.
For more information about the Bush Institute’s Freedom in North Korea initiative, please check out our call to action report, Light Through the Darkness, on improving the human condition in North Korea.
