Rights Commission: We Can Advise North

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) released a paper saying it can advise North Korea on its human rights practices yesterday.

Now, all eyes are on whether the commission will actively clarify its stance on the human rights situation in the North on the occasion of the release of the paper. The NHRC has discussed the North’s human rights conditions since September 2005, but it has never made its point officially known on the issue.

The NHRC Law Brochure Publishing Committee issued a 670-page document that spelled out the details of the commission’s inspection in detail, saying, “Without a doubt, North Koreans are also members of the Republic of Korea under ROK law, but given the reality in which North Korea is acknowledged as an independent state in the international community, the NHRC should take the unique inter-Korean relationship into consideration on the application of NHRC law to North Koreans.”

The document stated, “It is impossible for Seoul to exercise jurisdiction over North Koreans residing in North Korea or in a third country, but if a North Korean has his human rights violated by a ROK national agency in a third country, he may file a petition with the NHRC.”

It also added, “Though the NHRC has no responsibility to offer recommendations directly to Pyongyang, it can deliver the commission’s ideas related to North Korea’s human rights laws and policies in a form of recommendations or opinions.”