GENEVA (16 June 2017) – A United Nations Special Rapporteur has called for respect for the human rights of detainees in North Korea, after the release of US student Otto Warmbier earlier this week.
Mr. Warmbier was arrested last year during a trip to Pyongyang and given a 15-year prison term for allegedly planning hostile acts against the state. He is believed to have been in a coma since March 2016, reportedly after being given a sleeping pill by prison officials.
“While I welcome the news of Mr Warmbier’s release, I am very concerned about his condition, and the authorities have to provide a clear explanation about what made him slip into a coma,” said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Tomás Ojea Quintana.
“His case serves as a reminder of the disastrous implications of the lack of access to adequate medical treatment for prisoners in the DPRK,” he stressed.
Information on prisons is scarce in North Korea. In 2014 a United Nations commission of inquiry found that thousands of people were routinely detained in facilities across the country, held in inhumane conditions and subjected to torture and forced labour.
The country is also thought to operate up to five political prison camps for the most serious crimes. Foreign nationals have also been detained on political grounds, including two US university professors in Pyongyang who were arrested this year for allegedly plotting anti-state acts.
Mr. Ojea Quintana stressed that the authorities had failed to protect Mr. Warmbier from the start.
“His ordeal could have been prevented had he not been denied basic entitlements when he was arrested, such as access to consular officers and representation by an independent legal counsel of his choosing,” the Special Rapporteur said.
The expert noted the DPRK has signed up to five human rights treaties and the 1963 Vienna convention on consular relations that guarantee these basic rights.
It is not clear how Mr. Warmbier’s release has been secured, although his rapidly declining health may have been an incentive for North Korea to discharge him. “The onus is on the DPRK government to clarify the causes and circumstances of the release”, Mr Ojea Quintana insisted.
“I call on the DPRK authorities to protect all prisoners, be they North Korean or foreigners. Release on humanitarian grounds should always be considered when the person’s health deteriorates to the point of putting their lives in danger, regardless of their crime,” he concluded.
ENDS
Mr. Tomás Ojea Quintana (Argentina) was designated as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016. Mr. Ojea Quintana, a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in human rights, worked for the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, and represented the Argentinian NGO “Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo” in cases concerning child abduction during the military regime. He is a former Head of OHCHR human rights programme in Bolivia, and served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar from 2008 to 2014.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, country page: DPRK
OHCHR Seoul Office
For additional information and media requests, please contact in English, Tarek Cheniti (+82 2 725 3522 / tcheniti@ohchr.org) or in Korean, YounKyo Ahn (+82 2 725 3523 / yahn@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
You can read the press release here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/
Follow us on Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Concerned about the world we live in? Then STAND UP for someone’s rights today. #Standup4humanrights and visit the web page at http://www.
Mr. Warmbier was arrested last year during a trip to Pyongyang and given a 15-year prison term for allegedly planning hostile acts against the state. He is believed to have been in a coma since March 2016, reportedly after being given a sleeping pill by prison officials.
“While I welcome the news of Mr Warmbier’s release, I am very concerned about his condition, and the authorities have to provide a clear explanation about what made him slip into a coma,” said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Tomás Ojea Quintana.
“His case serves as a reminder of the disastrous implications of the lack of access to adequate medical treatment for prisoners in the DPRK,” he stressed.
Information on prisons is scarce in North Korea. In 2014 a United Nations commission of inquiry found that thousands of people were routinely detained in facilities across the country, held in inhumane conditions and subjected to torture and forced labour.
The country is also thought to operate up to five political prison camps for the most serious crimes. Foreign nationals have also been detained on political grounds, including two US university professors in Pyongyang who were arrested this year for allegedly plotting anti-state acts.
Mr. Ojea Quintana stressed that the authorities had failed to protect Mr. Warmbier from the start.
“His ordeal could have been prevented had he not been denied basic entitlements when he was arrested, such as access to consular officers and representation by an independent legal counsel of his choosing,” the Special Rapporteur said.
The expert noted the DPRK has signed up to five human rights treaties and the 1963 Vienna convention on consular relations that guarantee these basic rights.
It is not clear how Mr. Warmbier’s release has been secured, although his rapidly declining health may have been an incentive for North Korea to discharge him. “The onus is on the DPRK government to clarify the causes and circumstances of the release”, Mr Ojea Quintana insisted.
“I call on the DPRK authorities to protect all prisoners, be they North Korean or foreigners. Release on humanitarian grounds should always be considered when the person’s health deteriorates to the point of putting their lives in danger, regardless of their crime,” he concluded.
ENDS
Mr. Tomás Ojea Quintana (Argentina) was designated as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016. Mr. Ojea Quintana, a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in human rights, worked for the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, and represented the Argentinian NGO “Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo” in cases concerning child abduction during the military regime. He is a former Head of OHCHR human rights programme in Bolivia, and served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar from 2008 to 2014.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, country page: DPRK
OHCHR Seoul Office
For additional information and media requests, please contact in English, Tarek Cheniti (+82 2 725 3522 / tcheniti@ohchr.org) or in Korean, YounKyo Ahn (+82 2 725 3523 / yahn@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
You can read the press release here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/
Follow us on Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Concerned about the world we live in? Then STAND UP for someone’s rights today. #Standup4humanrights and visit the web page at http://www.
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유엔 전문가, 미국 대학생 사례 조선민주주의인민공화국 감옥 내 처우 반영
유엔 전문가, 미국 대학생 사례 조선민주주의인민공화국 감옥 내 처우 반영
제네바 (2017년 6월 16일) – 조선민주주의인민공화국 내 인권에 관한 특별보고관 토마스 오헤아 퀸타나(이하 “특별보고관”)는 조선민주주의인민공화국 내 구금자 인권을 존중하도록 촉구했다. 이번 주 초 미국 대학생 오토 웜비어가 석방되었다.
오토 웜비어는 지난해 평양 여행 중 체포된 후 ‘반공화국 적대 행위’ 모의 혐의로 15년 형을 선고받았다. 수감 중 교도관이 준 수면제를먹고 2016년 3월부터 혼수상태에 빠졌다고 알려진다.
“석방 소식을 환영하는 한편, 오토 웜비어 건강 상태에 상당한 우려를 표한다. 조선민주주의인민공화국 당국은 혼수상태에 빠진 이유를 분명히 설명해야 한다”고 특별보고관은 말했다.
이어 “오토 웜비어 사례는 조선민주주의인민공화국 내 수감자가 의학적 치료를 적절하게 받을 수 없기 때문에 끔찍한 상황을 초래할수 있음을 보여준다”고 강조했다.
조선민주주의인민공화국 내에서 운영되는 감옥 관련 정보는 거의 부재하다. 유엔 조사위원회는 2014년 해당국 전역에 위치한 시설내에 수 천 여명이 일상적으로 구금되며, 비인간적인 조건 속에 갇혀 고문과 강제 노동을 겪는다고 밝혔다.
조선민주주의인민공화국은 가장 중대한 범죄를 처벌하고자 정치범 수용소를 최대 다섯 곳까지 운영한다고 알려진다. 외국 국적자도정치적 이유를 근거로 해당국 내 구금되어 있는데, 올해 미국 국적 대학 교수 두 명이 평양에서 반공화국 행위 모의 혐의로 체포되었다.
특별보고관은 조선민주주의인민공화국 당국이 처음부터 오토 웜비어를 제대로 보호하지 못했다고 강조했다.
“오토 웜비어가 체포됐을 때 영사 접견을 허용하거나, 직접 변호인을 선임하도록 하는 등 기본 권리를 보장했다면, 작금의 상황을 초래하지 않았을 수 있다”고 특별보고관은 말했다.
특별보고관은 조선민주주의인민공화국이 서명한 다섯 개의 국제인권협약 및 영사관계 비엔나 협약(1963)이 앞서 언급한 기본 권리를보장한다고 강조했다.
오토 웜비어 석방이 어떻게 이루어졌는지 분명하지 않지만, 급격한 건강 악화로 말미암아 조선민주주의인민공화국이 석방을 결정했을 수 있다.
“조선민주주의인민공화국 정부는 석방 이유와 상황을 분명하게 설명할 의무가 있다”고 특별보고관은 주장했다.
“조선민주주의인민공화국 당국에 국적과 무관하게 내외국인 수감자 모두를 보호하길 촉구한다. 생명이 위태로울 정도로 건강이 악화되었다면 죄목과 상관없이 인도주의적 관점에서 석방을 고려해야 한다”고 특별보고관은 말했다.
끝
토마스 오헤나 퀸타나 (아르헨티나)는 조선민주주의인민공화국 내 인권 상황에 관한 특별보고관으로 2016년 유엔 인권이사회 임명을 받았다. 인권 분야에서 20년이상의 경력을 쌓은 변호사로 미주인권위원회에서 변호사로 근무했으며, 아르헨티나 군부 독재 시절 아동 납치 문제를 다룬 비정부기구 마요 광장의 어머니들(Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo) 대표로도 활동했다. 볼리비아 내 유엔인권최고대표사무소 인권 프로그램을 총괄한 바 있으며, 2008년부터 2014년까지 미얀마 내 인권에관한 특별보고관직을 역임했다.
특별보고관은 유엔 인권이사회 특별절차제도로, 특별절차는 유엔 인권 제도 하에서 가장 많은 수의 독립전문가가 참여한다. 특별절차는 특정국가 인권 또는 전세계에 적용하는 특정인권주제를 다루기 위해 인권이사회가 독립적으로 사실 관계를 규명하고 모니터링하는 제도를 가리킨다.특별절차 전문가는 유엔 직원 신분이 아니고 무보수로 자발적인 임무를 수행한다. 또한 여타 정부나 기관으로부터 독립성을 유지하며 개인 역량을 바탕으로 업무를 수행한다.
유엔 인권 국가별 웹페이지 –조선민주주의인민공화국: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/
서울유엔인권사무소 웹페이지: http://seoul.ohchr.org/EN/
추가 정보 및 언론사 영어 문의는 Tarek Cheniti (+82 2 725 3522/ tcheniti@ohchr.org), 한국어 문의는 안윤교 (+82 2 725 3523 / yahn@ohchr.org)로 문의주십시오.
기타 유엔 위임권한 관련 언론사 문의는 아래 언론 부서(Media Unit) 담당자로 문의해 주십시오.
사비어 셀라야(Xabier Celaya) (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
보도자료는 온라인에서도 확인할 수 있습니다. : http://www.ohchr.org/
트위터 계정: @UNHumanRights 및 페이스북 계정: unitednationshumanrights
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