An international seminar, entitled “North Korea Must Immediately Return Abductees from the Word Over,” was held in Tokyo on March 3rd, attracting participants mostly from Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

　　　Japanese participants included Mrs. Sakie Yokota, 82-year-old mother of Megumi, who was 13 years old when abducted by a North Korean agent in Niigata, Japan, in 1977. The graceful Mrs. Yokota is getting on in years—in the same way as the parents and families of other abduction victims are, wherever they may be from.

　　　The purpose of the seminar was to see reflected in international policies the February 17th results of an inquiry by the UN Human Rights Committee into human rights in North Korea.

　　　The near-400-page report constitutes a stunningly close scrutiny of human rights violations under the hermetic regime. Based on hearings from more than 240 escapees from North Korea, the report gives details of torture in political prison camps, executions, forced labor, as well as planned decreases of inmates due to death by deliberate starvation.

　　　The report declares the human rights abuses by North Korea’s leadership to be outright “crimes against humanity,” recommending that the UN Security Council (UNSC) refer the matter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague in order to hold responsible Supreme Leader (Kim Jong-un) as well as others in charge of North Korea’s National Defense Commission and the State Security Department (secret police). If the report is accepted by the UNSC, North Korea’s current and former top leaders—Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un—will be held criminally culpable.

　　　Ms. Kanae Doi, Japan Director of Human Rights Watch, praised the report as “perfect.” However, she notes that a stumbling block preventing the recommendations from taking concrete shape is an expected objection from China, which she calls “shameless.”

　　　A resolution reflecting the report will be proposed to a session of the UN Human Rights Committee scheduled for this month, constituting the first step toward holding responsible the North Korean leaders for their crimes.

　　　While the ICC does pursue criminal liabilities against individuals, North Korea is not a signatory to the agreements ruling the court. That is why a resolution of the UNSC is mandatory in order to refer this matter to the ICC.

　　　“But I am afraid China will surely veto it,” declares Ms. Doi.

The US: Constrained from Speaking Out

　　　No matter how much wrong North Korea has done, China has always not only defended it but dirtied its own hands in unison. Specifically, the Chinese have consistently arrested and returned escapees from the North.

　　　The exact number of North Korean escapees China has returned is hard to tell. The South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo has reported that Beijing and Pyongyang agreed on repatriation of those who fled the North in the 1960s, having since returned approximately 5,000 of them annually. A calculation on the basis of this figure means China has returned a staggering 250,000 escapees in the past 50 years or so. Presumably, many of them have been tortured to death in North Korean prisons.

　　　The UN report specifically mentioned China in connection with the return of escapees. The Chinese side instantly refuted it. The Global Times, the international edition of the official organ of the Communist Party of China—The People’s Daily—wrote on February 19th that “exaggerated and twisted” facts had been provided by escapees, who were described as the main source of information. The Times also claimed that the report was part of a plot to topple China’s socialistic system, among other things.

　　　Tsutomu Nishioka, Chairman of the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea, stressed: “In 2006, after North Korean forged ahead with another missile test, a resolution to sanction the nation was discussed at the UNSC. Japan, under the first administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, drafted a resolution which included an expression reading: ‘humanitarian concerns including the abduction issue.’ But China deleted ‘abduction.’ As Japan was at the time chair country of the UNSC, however, it finally managed to declare in the UNSC president’s statement that ‘humanitarian concerns’ included the abduction issue.”

　　　China has blatantly ignored human rights as generally recognized by the international community, trying instead to propagate its own maverick values. Its brazen acts have in fact led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people, as can be partly seen in the return of hapless North Korean escapees. China’s inhumane behavior can only be described as demonic. With its veto power, China can hardly be expected to allow the North Korean leadership to be referred to the ICC, which would likely impose criminal punishment on them. What, then, can be done about this?

　　　Ms. Doi explains: “As the report notes, there still is a way left for the UNSC to take action when China exercises its veto. Let us not forget that a special international criminal court was set up following a resolution at the UNSC in order to try former Khmer Rouge leaders.”

　　　This means a framework does indeed exist in the international community which does not allow China, prone to violate human rights, to keep getting away with its tyrannical ways by using its veto power at will. And yet there is another serious problem involved as regards North Korea: the reluctance of the US to call out China, which stands close behind North Korea. The problems involving North Korea also involve China. The only conceivable way at present to stop North Korea from continuing its crimes against humanity is to stop China from condoning them.

　　　With China constantly ignoring human rights issues, including abductions by North Korea, and the US staying sadly constrained before China, now is the time for Japan to do all it can to help resolve the problem. Japan has a role to play this month, as it is entrusted with writing the first draft of a resolution to be taken up at the UN Human Rights Committee on March 17th. This draft must have maximum power in order to goad the UNSC into action.

Japan’s Weak-Kneed Foreign Ministry

　　　However, Ms. Doi calls “ weak-kneed” a draft resolution already prepared by the Japanese Foreign Ministry because:

　　　①It fails to appeal to the UNSC for concrete actions;

　　　②References to the crimes against humanity committed by the North
　　　　　Korean leadership—as well as their accountability for those
　　　　　crimes—are only sketchily made, or not made at all, throughout
　　　　　the draft; and,

　　　③Absolutely no references are made to escapees from North Korea.

　　　Against such a backdrop, Banjong Panjoy, who took part in the seminar from Thailand, made an appeal for support, stressing: “We can only rely on South Korea and Japan for efforts to rescue my aunt.” Panjoy is a nephew of Anocha Panjoy, a Thai beautician who was kidnapped by North Korean agents while working in Macau in 1978. Another participant, Kim Seong-ho, who serves as honorary Director-General of the Korean War Abductees’ Family Union headquartered in Seoul, had his clergyman father abducted by the North 50 years ago. Kim remarked: “We are greatly touched by the Abe administration and the people of Japan for being so concerned about Korean abductees when our own government and society in general remain indifferent.”

　　　An Byeong-seon, whose fisherman father was snatched by the North after the Korean War, representing the organization of families of abductees taken to the North after the 1950-53 war, also spoke: “Korean society looks at us abductees’ families with an icy eye. Our living is not easy. Against such a background, we immensely value and are heartened by the efforts made by the Japanese government and the Japanese people to support us in our own efforts to rescue our in-laws.”

　　　Plainly speaking, it is only the Japanese government that has been wholeheartedly striving to resolve the abduction issue. And now, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has emerged as our powerful ally. Japan must take full advantage of this new opportunity by shedding light on the atrocities the North Korean regime has been getting away with, as well as the “crimes against humanity” Beijing commits by continuing to take sides with Pyongyang.

　　　By saving those whose lives are taken from them right before our very eyes—by rescuing all the abductees still detained in the North—Japan will demonstrate to the world that it is distinctly different from either China or North Korea, both of whom ceaselessly promote historical fictions while continuing to blatantly violate human rights.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 598 in the March 13 issue of The Weekly Shincho)