Vitit Muntarbhorn, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, said in the forum’s keynote speech that law enforcement agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and local communities must actively monitor human trafficking as globalization has caused a sharp increase in the crime.

North Korean Children in Crisis-

In the second session of the forum moderated by Muntarbhorn, Norma Kang Muico, an education and advocacy officer for the British group Anti-Slavery International, talked about the destructive impact that famine and economic crisis in North Korea have had on North Korean children. He said that about 40,000 North Korean children die of malnutrition and related diseases every year.

He also said that famine caused a massive exodus of North Koreans to China and North Korean families to disintegrate, and that North Korean children in China could not lead a normal life because of the fear of being sent back to North Korea.

In addition, he also raised the issue about North Korean girls being trafficked as brides. He said that North Korean women taking refuge in China are being sold to rural Chinese for 400-10,000 yuan (about 50,000 -1.2 million won).

He said that the international community still does not fully recognize the extent of North Korean suffering and called for the stoppage of repatriations of North Korean refugees by force, lighter punishments on those who are sent back to North Korea, and greater access to North Korea for the U.N. special rapporteur. He also urged the international community to continue to raise the issue of human rights in North Korea.

Human Trafficking Measures Needed-

In the forum’s first session, representatives of NGOs and working groups from countries, including Thailand, the Philippines, Nepal, and India, reported on their respective human rights conditions and their child labor problems.

Bhuwan Ribhu, the director of the Save the Childhood Foundation of India, pointed out that forced labor performed by victims of human trafficking was worth $31.6 billion (about 31.6 trillion won), and that the demand for child labor is increasing because it is cheap and because children have a difficult time resist systematic exploitation.

In the third session, measures to protect children and women from trafficking were discussed, and the results of human trafficking rescue and return programs in Southeast Asia were introduced.

Severino H. Gana, Jr., the chairman of the Taskforce Against Trafficking in Persons of the Philippines, said that under the anti-human trafficking law enacted in 2003, those who committed the crime had been sentenced to life imprisonment. Aarti Kappor, the international director of AFESIP International of Cambodia, stressed that only continuous support for prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation measures would be effective.

Korea Must Take the Initiative-

Participants in the forum pointed out that Korea should take the lead in resolving human rights issues in Asia because unlike Japan, with its dark human rights history, and China, with its current human rights record, Korea commands international confidence. Edward P. Reed, the representative of the Asia Foundation, said that Korea had a duty to actively join in the efforts to tackle human rights issues in Asia.

Jonathan Blagbrough, the child labor program coordinator for Anti-Slavery International of Thailand, said that the forum held in Korea showed that Asians could work together to promote human rights.

Heo said that he would push for building networks with civic groups participating in the forum from many countries and publish a white paper.