Christine Lee
Warning: mentions of disturbing images of torture.
On a number of occasions in the last decade, the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have consistently criticised North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DRPK), for its severe violations of human rights. Its human rights record is seen as one of the worst in world, ranking fifth worst in the 2023 Freedom in the World report. A significant aspect of this is the suppression of religious freedoms in DRPK, where religious believers, especially Christians, are cruelly persecuted for their beliefs.
North Korea’s suppression of religious freedoms
The human right to religious freedom is provided for in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a treaty which DRPK and 172 other States have ratified. Additionally, the DRPK Constitution outlines the right to religious freedom, accompanied with restrictive caveats that religion cannot bring in foreign forces, nor can it harm the government or disturb their social order, ostensibly allowing for religious freedom. However, in practice the ruling social order known as Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism completely forbids competing ideologies, requiring absolute obedience to government leaders.
In July 2022, the UN Secretary-General reported that:
“the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion [in DRPK] also continues to be denied, with no alternative belief systems tolerated by the authorities.”
Furthermore, DRPK’s caste system (songbun) classifies citizens in accordance with their loyalty to the government. However the imposed status of any religious believer as an enemy of the state has consequently made North Korea especially dangerous for religious believers to live in. From available evidence, Christianity in particular is considered a serious threat to the Kim regime and its assertions of absolute control and authority over its citizens’ lives, beliefs and thoughts. Therefore, Christians are especially targeted and subjected to the most severe persecution methods, largely because Christianity is perceived, by the regime, to be associated with foreign imperialism, particularly the United States and South Korea. In 2023 North Korea was ranked by Open Doors as the most dangerous country in the world for Christians.
International action
Despite the growing concern for the violation of human rights in North Korea, the main sources of information still come from testimonies of defectors and refugees due to the DRPK’s lack of transparency on the treatment of religious followers. Thus, international action is needed to investigate, condemn and ultimately change North Korean practices.
In 2013 the Human Rights Council established the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in DPRK to investigate human rights violations in DPRK. The commission found that DPRK were continuously committing systematic and widespread human rights violations, many of which constitute crimes against humanity including the imprisonment, torture, murder and persecution of Christians. It encouraged further investigation into DRPK’s human rights practices and crimes against humanity, including those related to religious freedom.
In 2022 the War Crimes Committee of the International Bar Association and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea released the Inquiry on Crimes against Humanity in North Korean Detention Centres. The report finds that the situation has not improved, with crimes against humanity continuing to be committed in North Korea, especially within detention centres, with estimates that 50-60% of detainees are Christian or have connections to Christianity. Those suspected of adhering to Christian beliefs are interrogated and tortured for longer periods to force them to incriminate other Christians. Torture methods included being beaten with wooden mallets, strangulation, starvation, water torture, sleep deprivation, hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, forced abortions, and many others.
While these investigations have provided greater awareness of religious oppressions North Koreans face, little is being done to assist them. The Commission’s findings are rejected by DRPK as “political conspiracy”, while the diplomatic, peaceful measures taken by the United Nations have proven inadequate in alleviating North Korean suffering. Without further action by the international community, there will continue to be little progress in improving human rights conditions.
Next steps
In addition to raising public awareness of North Korea’s human rights violations, the international community must apply more pressure on North Korea to improve its human rights record, with a focus on strategic collaboration with China.
China’s stance is very important in the North Korean human rights crisis due to its geographical distance and its status as North Korea’s main economic supporter. However, the Chinese government has rejected the Commission’s findings, currently viewing all North Korean refugees as illegal economic migrants. China returns them to North Korea with no regard for their wellbeing and human rights, in contrast to their international obligations. Since 2017, Chinese authorities have been expelling hundreds of South Korean Christian missionaries, who have been crucial in providing aid to North Korean defectors. In 2022 only 67 North Koreans defected to South Korea, an all-time low in the last two decades. Changing China’s position on North Korea is pivotal in being able to provide support to more North Koreans and facilitating further action from the international community.
Reports by UN bodies and leading NGOs have recommended the UN Security Council hold those most responsible for these crimes against humanity by prosecuting them in an international court such as the International Criminal Court or an ad-hoc International Tribunal. Additionally, targeted sanctions should be adopted towards the individuals that are responsible, however not the North Korean population or economy as a whole. However, these measures have not yet been implemented by the UN Security Council. Any resolution to refer North Korea to the ICC would likely be rejected by China, again highlighting China’s pivotal role.
North Korea must be held accountable for their flagrant violations of the right to religious freedom, causing innocent religious believers to suffer. It is imperative for the United Nations to work with other nations to create an effective plan with urgency. This includes continued pressure on and persuasion of China to change their position towards North Korea, as well as sanctions and criminal prosecutions of those responsible.
Christine Lee was an intern with the Australian Journal of Human Rights in Term 2, 2023.