FN-observatør konsekvent nægtet adgang til landet
TOKYO, 20 January 2012: An independent UN expert Friday urged the new leadership in North Korea to address pressing human rights concerns and resolve related outstanding issues, including the abduction of Japanese citizens and other foreign nationals.
– Positive engagement of North Korea with the international community would be welcomed by all quarters, as has been the case with Burma, where the adoption of reform processes are welcomed widely, said Marzuki Darusman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the communist-ruled country, at the end of a five-day visit to Japan.
He voiced his hope that the new North Korean leaders will use “the succession as an opportunity to engage with the international community and secure global confidence,” adding that the international community expects that steps will be taken to improve the secluded country’s human rights record.
– I call on the new leadership to address all questions and concerns in relation to human rights, and resolve outstanding issues such as the abduction of Japanese and other foreign nationals without further delay, Mr. Darusman stated in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.
He said that information gathered in talks with defectors from North Korea indicated that the humanitarian situation in that country remains dire (slem), with serious shortages of food, amid a critical human rights situation.
– I also heard with concern that asylum-seekers from the North Korea are being refouled (afvist) by neighbouring countries, and that border control has been tightened over the last month or so, which makes fleeing North Korea more difficult, he said.
Since his appointment in August 2010, Mr. Darusman has made several requests to visit North Korea, but they have not been granted.
In the absence of cooperation on this matter, he has been visiting other countries in the region – Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
He said that he would approach the new North Korean leadership in the coming days to make another request for a meeting and access to the country.
Kilde: FNs Nyhedstjeneste
Se også
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40787&Cr=democratic&Cr1=korea
