The humanitarian crisis and the human rights violations in North Korea are among the most staggering in the world today.

During the 1990s, the government allowed as many as one million people, and possibly many more, to die during years of protracted famine. Furthermore, North Korea continues to hold as many as 200.000 people in political prisons without due process of law for arbitrary reasons. The prison camps are operated with an extreme degree of brutality and massive disregard for basic human rights.

In the wake of North Korea’s nuclear test in October 2006, the Six-Party Talks reached a deal for the normalization of relations between the parties and the denuclearization of North Korea. However, the discussions about the human rights and humanitarian challenges within North Korea remain largely an issue of secondary concern.

Objectives

• The long term objective of this project is to contribute to an improved humanitarian situation and respect for human rights in North Korea. Specific objectives are:
• To raise awareness internationally about the humanitarian and human rights situation in North Korea.
• Contribute to the strengthening of the UN annual resolution on North Korea’s human rights situation.

Activities

• The Oslo Center is collaborating with DLA Piper and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. The co-operation dates back to 2006 when the report Failure to Protect – A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in North Korea was co-authored by Kjell Magne Bondevik, Vaclav Havel and Elie Wiesel.
• An up-dated report on the human rights and humanitarian situation in North Korea, Failure to Protect: The Ongoing Challenge of North Korea was published and launched in September 2008. The report attracted international attention, and articles about the humanitarian situation and human rights violations in North Korea have been published in leading Norwegian and international newspapers.
• A letter was sent from Havel/Bondevik to the EU Chairmanship (France) encouraging the EU to propose a strengthening of the annual UN resolution on North Korea, referring to the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, and establishing an expert group to consider whether the situation in North Korea can be considered a Responsibility to Protect situation.
• In November 2008, The Oslo Center co-organised a conference with Norwegian Mission to the East, focusing on the human rights situation within North Korea and the situation for North Korean refugees in China.