[신년 인터뷰: 마이클 커비 전 COI 위원장] “침묵으로 북한 인권 개선할 수 없어…북한 주민 ‘알 권리’ 핵심” > 사회

Michael Kirby, former chairman of the UN Human Rights Investigation Committee (COI), said that we should not turn a blind eye or remain silent just because it is difficult to solve North Korea's serious human rights problems. In a telephone interview with VOA on the 18th, former chairman Kirby expressed concern over the silence of some countries, including South Korea, about North Korea's serious human rights situation, and stressed that support for "right to know" such as free access to information is very important. Reporter Kim Young-kwon interviewed former chairman Kirby.

Reporter) It has been eight years since you completed your duties as chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights Investigation (COI). In the final report at the time, he strongly recommended that the international community hold responsibility for crimes against humanity, saying, "The seriousness, scale, and nature of human rights violations in North Korea cannot be found in any country in modern society." First of all, how do you evaluate the current human rights situation in North Korea?

Former Chairman Kirby) I don't think there is any actual improvement in human rights. In fact, in a way, the situation has gotten worse. In particular, the introduction of the reactionary cultural exclusion law, which further strengthens criminal punishment and detention when residents watch dramas smuggled from South Korea, shows the North Korean leadership's willingness to continue to isolate residents. It keeps making the people ignorant of what's happening in the world and what the world thinks of the North Koreans.

Reporters) The UN Commission on Human Rights Investigation (COI) report received so much attention that it was called the Bible on Human Rights in North Korea, but from what I hear, it doesn't seem to have much effect on the improvement of human rights in North Korea.

When Kirby's COI report was released, I think it had a great impact on the United Nations, especially the United Nations Human Rights Commission. The UN Human Rights Council is familiar with the terrible human rights situation in many countries around the world. However, most people were shocked by North Korea's stories and human rights records. I think the UN Commission on Human Rights Investigation in North Korea has achieved its goal in terms of preventing anyone from saying that they did not know that it was happening. Because you'll remember the majority of Germans saying that when the Nazi regime in Germany collapsed. We wanted the COI report to serve as an opportunity for everyone to know that the North Korean regime's media control makes it very difficult. I thought it would be a solution for human rights to be realized in North Korea by allowing North Koreans to know what the world found out and what the world thinks about human rights violations in North Korea.

Reporter) reminds me of the story that "there is no mosquito net in the world that is strong enough to prevent free human thoughts" during interviews with us in the past. It was a rebuttal to the North Korean leadership's continued emphasis on "the mosquito net of thought should be firmly hit to prevent the infiltration of non-socialism," and as you said, there are concerns that Chairman Kim Jong-un is trying to cover the eyes and ears of residents through the Reaction and Culture Protection Act. How should the international community respond?

Former Chairman Kirby) The actual risks of the international community are too difficult to solve and turn a blind eye to the problem. We must keep the promises the United Nations made when it was established in 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed in 1948. The world decided that it would not turn a blind eye to human rights issues at the time and would respond immediately without looking in a different direction. Two things have happened in North Korea in the past one to two years. As mentioned earlier, it has become difficult to access (external) media that properly convey what is happening in North Korea, such as enacting laws to strengthen punishment for residents who have contacted the outside world and the recent act of testing weapons and launching ballistic missiles in series. Weapons development and human rights suppression are going together in North Korea. Therefore, the international community must realize that the nuclear problem cannot be solved without solving the human rights problem.

Reporters) Then should the international community further tighten pressure on Chairman Kim Jong-un, including additional human rights sanctions?

Former chairman Kirby) A lot of preparation is needed to strengthen such pressure. But nothing will happen if you decide not to do anything or if you decide to continue to be friendly with serious provocations and misbehavior. Not only has the international community turned a blind eye to the response recommended by the final report of the UN Commission on Human Rights Investigation of North Korea, but there are also some signs that the response seems too difficult and impossible. Once again, mankind made a resolution not to do so again when it established the United Nations. He promised that he would raise issues about human rights violations without looking away and would never give up efforts to seek solutions by linking human rights protection with universal human standards. You have to keep that promise.

Reporters) What recommendations do you want to make to the Biden administration?

Former chairman Kirby's) Biden administration and supporters of freedom and human rights around the world should not turn a blind eye to the human rights situation in North Korea. We need to constantly press for change and reform. In fact, when former President Donald Trump pushed for a summit with Kim Jong-un, I thought this was the first step in the right direction. However, instead of starting from the outskirts where diplomacy can normally solve and moving to the center of the problem presented by the North Korean regime, former President Trump started with the nuclear weapons issue, which is the central issue. And the talks did not produce valuable results and the talks did not last. I think the Biden administration should take this as a lesson and return to the traditional diplomatic way of the State Department. The way is to solve international relations, peace and security, and universal human rights issues together.

Reporters) In the past, you said that the United States and South Korea need to take the lead in strengthening cooperation on North Korean human rights, but do you still feel the same way?

Former Chairman Kirby) That's right. Having leaders answer questions responsibly is part of the mechanism that leads to development by putting pressure on them.In the case of South Korean President Moon Jae In, some measures taken by the South Korean government were absent from the UN's Joint Proposal Bureau on Human Rights Resolution in North Korea, condemning the human rights situation in North Korea, and refused to find small parts of cooperation and agreement. I think the traditional diplomatic system should return to including both the two Koreas. We cannot make progress simply by ignoring the actions of the North Korean regime against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter.

Reporter) Just in time, the Korean presidential election will be held in March to elect a new president. What kind of request do you want to make to the new government?

Former chairman Kirby) Well. I was in charge of North Korea, not South Korea, and I'm careful to mention it because I think I'm involved in South Korea's election campaign. However, I hope Korea will learn from the past four years of experience. Silence does not guarantee North Korea's compensation. Looking in different directions is often insulted, not reward. It seems to me that President Moon Jae In expected more progress, but as you can see, he has achieved very little. There is little that can be achieved by silent policies. I think the time has come to raise interest in North Korea's human rights situation again. North Korea is not just a bad country. There are many bad countries in this world when it comes to human rights. All countries, including Australia, my home country, have human rights issues. But the situation in North Korea is really serious. Therefore, it is our duty as humans to raise our voices for North Koreans and not to make this happen only in silence or criticism. In that sense, I hope that progress will be made in North Korea's human rights situation after the South Korean presidential election. And ultimately, the unification of the Korean Peninsula, which Koreans long for, will only be possible when there is substantial improvement in the human rights situation in North Korea.

Reporters) Unless there is a major change, the UN Human Rights Council will appoint the next special reporter for North Korean human rights in June. What role do you want the new reporter to focus on?

Kirby) The most important role of the next North Korean Human Rights Special Inspector is to ensure that North Koreans know what is going on in North Korea along with knowledge and information. And that means that there has been no substantial human rights change in North Korea since the final report of the UN Commission on Human Rights Investigation (COI), so it returns to the report at that time. Going back to that time and somehow finding a way for North Koreans to know about the big mistakes that are happening everywhere in North Korea. And so that North Koreans can realize them and make progress on human rights. We cannot guarantee progress from perpetrators who violate human rights while walking in different directions. You should be involved in North Koreans and deliver knowledge and information to them.

Reporter) You emphasized the right of North Koreans to know today. Lastly, what message do you want to deliver to the residents?

Former Chairman Kirby) My message is clear. I'm telling you not to give up. Please never give up hope for human development and human rights. This important message was made when Ms. Eleanor Roosevelt, a great American woman (wife of former President Franklin Roosevelt), adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the first chairman of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Human rights are not given to the world and people by the United Nations. Human rights belong to everyone in the world. Now, making sure that human rights belong to North Koreans is a task ahead of us. It will include our continued efforts to promote North Korea's human rights, especially the U.S. and South Korea appointing special envoys for North Korean human rights and international cooperation, the U.N. appoints the head of the U.N. Human Rights Office in Seoul, and the U.N. Human Rights Council appoints a new North Korean human rights inspector.

I heard opinions from Michael Kirby, a former Supreme Court justice of Australia, on the recent human rights situation and improvement measures in North Korea. I was reporter Kim Young-kwon in the interview.

출처 : VOA한국