By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA (Reuters) – World powers have a responsibility to ignore crimes against humanity that can still be perpetrated by North Korean officials amid a focus on their nuclear program, a UN human rights investigator said on Wednesday.
Tomas Ojea-Quintana urged the UN Security Council to refer serious violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the International Criminal Court for trial.
He expressed concern about reports of severe punishments imposed for violating the COVID-19 blockade measures, including alleged orders to “shoot at sight” anyone attempting to cross the border.
“Crimes against humanity may be in progress,” Ojea-Quintana told the UN Human Rights Council.
He received information that confirms the findings of a historic 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry on extermination, murder, slavery, torture, rape, forced abortion, sexual violence, political persecution and “the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged hunger” in the isolated country .
“The urgency of preventing violations of such a scale, seriousness and nature cannot be overlooked in the face of national or geopolitical interests,” Ojea-Quintana told the Geneva forum.
This was not justified under the UN Charter, he said, adding: “I believe the Security Council is responsible for its inaction against the continuation of crimes against humanity in North Korea.”
Ojea-Quintana presented his latest report, released last week, which said that the drastic measures taken by North Korea to contain the new coronavirus have exacerbated the abuses and economic difficulties of its citizens, including reports of famine.
“We are concerned about the increase in reports of hunger, imprisonment and summary executions,” US Chargé d’Affaires Mark Cassayre told the council.
Australia’s deputy ambassador, Jeffrey Roach, said North Korea’s top priority should be to improve the lives of its citizens. “Instead, the regime’s focus remains on the development of weapons of mass destruction and the vehicles to deliver them,” he said.
North Korea’s UN mission to Geneva did not respond to Reuters questions for comment. Pyongyang does not recognize the UN investigator’s mandate and boycotted Wednesday’s debate.
He had previously rejected the UN’s allegations of crimes against humanity.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Steve Orlofsky)