朝鮮強烈批評人權紀錄研討會

A nonprofit organization’s conference on North Korea’s human rights record is drawing sharp criticism from Pyongyang, which is threatening to strongly respond to what it calls provocations by hostile forces. Tuesday’s conference in Washington is part of a broader plan by human rights organizations to increase pressure on Pyongyang to dismantle its repressive system of political prisons.

While efforts have stalled in the United Nations to prosecute North Korea’s leaders for crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court, the issue is not fading away.

Phil Robertson with the independent organization Human Rights Watch says they are planning a number of ways to publicly shame Pyongyang over its human rights violations even if North Korea’s allies on the U.N. Security Council block any punitive action. “Of course that may be the case, because of course China and Russia are still there, they still have veto authority, then we may have to search for an ad hoc international accountability mechanism,” he said.

International pressure has been intensifying on Pyongyang since the release of a U.N. report last year documenting a network of political prisons in North Korea and atrocities that include murder, enslavement, and torture.

While the U.N. Security Council has not voted to prosecute North Korea, it did vote last December to put the issue on its agenda. Human rights advocates say this procedural vote was a major victory because once the issue is on Security Council’s agenda it can be brought up again at any time.

This week the Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is holding a public conference on human rights in the North Korea.

Jang Il Hun, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday objected to the continued international focus on the human rights situation in his country. He denied any allegations of abuse, and insisted that Pyongyang's offer to attend the conference was rejected by Washington, even though the event is open to the public.

Jang Il Hun said: “We will strongly respond to the end, to any of the slightest provocation by the hostile forces, such as the one in the conference convened by the United States. We will continue to develop and strengthen our people and other socialist system that formerly guarantees the protection and promotion of human rights of our people."

But human rights organizations and the United Nations are not backing down. In March the U.N. Human Rights Council will meet in Geneva and hold a session on North Korea. Also this year the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner For Human Rights will open an office based in Seoul to focus on the human rights situation in nuclear-armed communist North Korea.一個非盈利組織星期二在華盛頓召開有關朝鮮人權紀錄的研討會。平壤提出強烈批評，並威脅要對它所說的敵對勢力的挑釁做出強硬反應。星期二的研討會是一些人權組織範圍更爲廣泛計劃的一部分，希望加大對平壤的壓力，迫使它廢除壓制性的政治犯監獄體系。

在聯合國國際刑事法庭起訴朝鮮領導人反人類罪的努力陷入僵局之際，朝鮮人權問題沒有從人們的視野中消失。

獨立的人權組織人權觀察的菲爾•羅伯遜表示，儘管朝鮮在聯合國安理會的盟友阻止對平壤制裁，但人權組織計劃通過一些途徑將朝鮮踐踏人權的問題曝光。他說：“當然，有可能無法進行制裁，因爲中國和俄羅斯還在那裏。它們都有否決權。我們或許不得不尋找臨時的國際問責機制。”

自去年聯合國發佈報告列舉了朝鮮的政治犯監獄和包括謀殺、奴役和酷刑在內的暴行以來，國際間對平壤的壓力持續增加。

安理會還沒有就起訴朝鮮的問題表決，但去年12月表決通過將這個問題提上議程。人權活動人士表示，這個程序表決是一個重大勝利，因爲這個問題一旦進入安理會的議程，就可以在任何時候提出。

本星期，總部設在華盛頓的智庫戰略與國際問題研究中心舉行有關朝鮮人權問題的公開研討會。

星期一，朝鮮常駐聯合國代表張日勳表示反對國際社會繼續關注朝鮮人權狀況。他反駁外界有關朝鮮踐踏人權的指責，堅持說平壤提出參加這次研討會但被拒絕。實際上，這次研討會對公衆開放。

張日勳說：“我們將自始至終對敵對勢力的任何微小挑釁做出強烈的迴應。美國召開這樣的研討會就是挑釁。我們將繼續發展和鞏固我們的人民和其他社會主義制度，這種制度正式保障並促進我們人民的人權。”

人權組織和聯合國沒有爲此退卻。今年3月，聯合國人權理事會將在日內瓦開會討論朝鮮人權問題。今年聯合國人權事務高級專員公署將在首爾開設一個辦事處，關注擁有核武器的朝鮮的人權狀況。