Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist, a former Parliamentary Candidate, and is Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission.
Two events took place yesterday
which have the potential to contribute to making our world a better place. One
was President Barack Obama’s inauguration – or more specifically, his speech.
The other was a debate in the House of Lords on the security, humanitarian and
human rights situation in North Korea. Both had a ‘carpe diem’ feel to them.
Obama’s speech had the soaring,
inspiring rhetoric which we have come to associate with him. But, beneath the
rhetoric, it contained some truths that all of us, wherever we are in the
world, should internalise and turn into action. He talked about the founding
truths of the United States of America, which are universal to all mankind – of all men being made equal, with
unalienable rights, including life and liberty. But he added a challenge to us:
"For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth".
In other words, we must work for it.
He turned then from his country
to the rest of the world:
“We will show the courage to try and resolve our
differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naive about the
dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and
fear.”
But with that engagement comes a commitment to freedom.
“We will support
democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because
our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long
for freedom.”
His ‘carpe diem’ moment? “We are
made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together,”
reinforced at the end of the speech by, “let us answer the call of history.”
Out of the glare of the
spotlight, and with rather more gritty determination than poetic idealism,
Peers discussed what to do about the world’s most oppressed, most closed and
one of its most dangerous nations: North Korea.
The debate was introduced by Lord
Alton of Liverpool, who for the past ten years or more has shown extraordinary
commitment, courage, creativity and leadership on this issue. As Chairman of
the All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea, he has held numerous hearings
where survivors of North Korea’s gulags have given evidence of the horrors they
have endured. With Baroness Cox, he has visited Pyongyang four times,
relentlessly pursuing what he calls ‘Helsinki with a Korean face’ –
constructive but critical engagement with the North Korean regime.
In every
discussion with the North Koreans, at every opportunity, often in direct and
sometimes in creative ways, he has looked the regime in the eye and confronted
them with incontrovertible evidence of their atrocious abuse of their own
people. I know, because I have seen it, and have been an accomplice to it. I
travelled with Lord Alton and Baroness Cox to Pyongyang in 2010; I armed them
with piles of human rights reports.
Yesterday’s debate was an
opportunity to shine a light on one of the darkest corners of the world. But it
was also an opportunity to suggest to Her Majesty’s Government that there were
some practical steps that could be taken – and the United Kingdom could lead
the way. Lord Alton painted a picture of the human rights catastrophe in North
Korea, and called for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry to
investigate:
“On human rights, according to the
United Nations, 200,000 people are languishing in festering prison camps—the
kwan-li-so—where 400,000 people have died in the past 30 years. In an evidence
session here, Shin Dong Hyok described how he was born and spent 23 years in
Camp 14 and was tortured and subjected to forced labour. At 14, he was made to
watch the execution of his mother and brother … The evidence given to our
committee … include accounts of executions, torture, detention, forced
labour, trafficking, religious persecution and the “guilt by association”
policy, which leads to the arrest, imprisonment and punishment of detainees’
families for up to three generations. We have also heard of women impregnated
by Chinese men facing forced abortions or infanticide following deportation by
China … North Korea has never allowed United Nations special rapporteurs on
human rights to enter the country, but with 25,000 North Koreans living in the
south and an estimated 100,000 living illegally in China, there would be no
shortage of evidence for such an inquiry to assess.”
Baroness Cox then provided a
catalogue of five shocking testimonies. You can read them all here, but I just
quote two. She told the House:
Ahn
Myeong-Cheol, aged 37, described how his father killed himself when he learnt
that he had been heard criticising the regime, while his mother and brothers
were sent to prison camps as a punishment for his criticism. Ahn was
“re-educated” and became a prison guard, witnessing guard dogs, imported from
Russia, tear three children to pieces and the camp warden congratulating the
guard who had trained the dogs. After he escaped, Ahn published They Are Crying
for Help, urging the international community not to look away from the human
rights violations and crimes against humanity experienced on a daily basis by
the North Korean people.Lee
Sung-ae,described how prison guards pulled out her finger-nails, destroyed all
her lower teeth and poured water mixed with chillies into her nose. Finally,
Kim Hye-sook was sent to gaol aged 13 because her grandfather had gone to South
Korea. She spent 28 years in the prison camp; as a child she was forced to work
in coal mines and witness public executions. In 2011 she showed the all-party group
her paintings depicting the suffering she both witnessed and experienced,
ranging from deprivation of food to public executions and even cannibalism. She
wept as she spoke about the death of her son in the camp.
So what
could the United Kingdom do in response to such barbarity? From the debate, and
from my own advocacy work, I would draw out four recommendations:
“Britain has diplomatic relations with both sides
and should build on the successful 2011 visit of Choe Tae Bok, the Speaker of
the North Korean Supreme Assembly, who expressed interest in both our Northern
Ireland peace process and the Hong Kong formula of two systems in one country. As the noble Baroness, Lady Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan clearly
understood, advocating the use of soft power should not be confused with being
a soft touch.”Similarly, food should never be used as a political weapon. If
people are starving, we should try to help. There are valid questions about
monitoring and ensuring that humanitarian assistance benefits those we want it
to benefit – but we should at least try.
For too long, North Korea has been put on the too-difficult pile. North Korea's people have suffered, out of the glare of the world's television cameras, a litany of horrors: total oppression, absolute denial of freedom, the uncertainties and insecurities of a state of war, bizarre propaganda, starvation, chronic poverty, isolation from the rest of the world. The time has come for someone, somewhere, to, in Obama's words, "answer the call of history" and set in train a series of actions that could begin to "carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom". That precious light needs to be carried into the darkest place on earth.
Obama may not be the man to do it. David Cameron, on the other hand, has an opportunity. Yes, he and William Hague have a lot on their foreign policy plate already: Algeria and Europe, to name just two of the challenges of this week. But they could not just answer the call of history, but earn a place in history, if they seize the moment and say yes: we will hold the Kim regime accountable; we will support the spread of information into North Korea; we will urge China to live up to its responsibilities as a world power; and we will talk face to face with Pyongyang, we will not let people starve, and we will use our place as a nation with influence that far outstrips its size, to hold a torch for the 24 million people who live in darkness.
Lead the way, UK, for NK, and we can hold our heads high.