South Korea Releases Report on North Korea’s Abuses

By Hyo-Jin Paik
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea– For the first time, South Korea’s government funded human rights watchdog, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), released a report on the alleged human rights abuses in North Korea.

The report said that the number of North Korean political camps has declined, but it also detailed inhumane conditions like torture and executions of North Korean political prison camps where more than 200,000 people are estimated to be imprisoned.

NHRCK official said in the six political prisons in the North where people are held indefinitely, “Nearly every type of human rights violation has occurred in those political concentration camps including the secret execution of prisoners [without trial].”

North Korea incarcerates entire families for minor political wrongdoings by one particular member of the family, such as damaging Kim Jong-il’s photo or singing South Korean songs.  Defectors who try to escape to China or South Korea are also punished, and the punishments have grown harsher over the past three years.

Inmates are not given clothes or shoes, but are provided only shelter and food.  Conditions for female inmates are especially harsh as they are often called in by the authorities and sexually assaulted.

Importantly, NHRCK’s report reflects a change within the South Korean government.  In the previous two administrations, South Korea remained silent on the issues of North’s human rights abuses and avoided directly criticizing North Korea’s rights violations.

However, the recent assessment by NHRCK shows South Korea’s willingness to publically confront North Korea concerning its human rights abuses.

Nonetheless, this report comes amid new tensions where Pyongyang threatened Seoul with a “holy war” after reports came out regarding South’s contingency plan for resolving the current political, social and economic instability in the North.

NHRCK plans on translating the report into English and sending it to the UN Commission on Human Rights as well as other international organizations to bring awareness of the atrocities still happening in North Korea.

Some experts have criticized the NHRCK report saying that it may further deteriorate relations between the North and the South.  Seo Bo-hyuk, a professor in Seoul, voiced his concern saying, “A unilateral demand from South Korea could stifle the improvement of inter-Korean relations.”
For more information, please see:

AsiaNews – More than 200,000 political and religious prisoners in North Korea – 21 January 2010

Chosun Ilbo- Seoul Breaks Silence on N.Korea’s Human Rights Abuses – 22 January 2010

VOA – South Korean Human Rights Body Breaks Silence on Abuses in North – 20 January 2010

Updated Position on China’s Text Messaging Surveillance

By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – The Chinese government continued to ease a six-month-old blackout on communications in the northwest region of Xinjiang by restoring some text-messaging services, according to the state news media, however, cellular companies in Beijing and Shanghai have been told to suspend text services to cell phone users who are found to have sent messages with “illegal or unhealthy content.” The effort is an attempt to further what the Chinese government calls, “a campaign against pornography.”

Originally, restrictions on Internet access, international telephone service and text messaging were put in place after ethnic violence last July killed at least 197 people and injured more than 1,700 in the regional capital, Urumqi. The government says it severed communications to ease tensions it claims were inflamed by social networking sites and text messages.

The increased surveillance of text messages is the latest in a series of government initiatives to tighten control of the Internet and other forms of communication. Since November, the government has closed hundreds of Web sites in the name of weeding out pornographic and pirated material.

Xinjiang, with its combustive mix of Han and Uighur ethnic groups, has been under a heightened state of security of internet access since the rioting, which was the deadliest outbreak in China in decades. But, in recent weeks, the authorities have begun to restore limited Internet service. It has allowed the region’s 20 million residents to view pages from the Communist Party’s main newspaper, People’s Daily, which is the official Xinhua news service. The ban has also been eased to allow access to two popular Web portals.

In response to scrutinized text messaging monitoring, Kan Kaili, a professor of telecommunications at Beijing University, called the routine surveillance of cell phone messages a violation of privacy rights and the Chinese Constitution. According to Kalli, “They are doing wide-ranging checks, checking anything and everything, even if it is between a husband and wife,” he said. Kalli went on to say that, the government had established no clear legal definition of unhealthy content. He also said commercial authorities such as phone companies, even though government-owned, should not be involved in checking the contents of private messages.

As it stands presently, according to China Daily, China Mobile will suspend the text-messaging function for phone numbers whose users are suspected of transmitting unhealthy content while the police evaluate the users’ messages. If the authorities clear a user of any violation, they will issue a certificate allowing text-messaging services to be resumed, the newspaper said.

For More Information, please see:

The New York Times – Text Messages in China to Be Scanned for ‘Illegal Content’ – January 21, 2010

The Epoch Times – China’s All-Out War Against Internet Freedom – January 20, 2010

United Press International – Text message censorship in China – January 22, 2010

The New York Times – China Restores Text Messaging in Xinjiang – January 17, 2010

Amnesty International Supports Scrutiny of Thailand’s Lese Majeste Laws

By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – Numerous human rights groups and have been questioning and complaining against the trend of stringency in the Thai government’s superfluous enforcement of its lese majeste laws.  Lese majeste laws are those which punish citizens of a nation-state for speaking ill or somehow violating the dignity of the reigning sovereign of that particulate state. The recent excessiveness of indicting Thai nationals for speaking ill of King Bhumibol has been noted to exceed the limits prescribed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.  In unreasonably enforcing its lese majeste, the Thai government has executed extensive monitoring practices which impinge upon the privacy of Thailand’s residence.  Being a party to the ICCR, Thailand violates the limits on punishing speech established by a collection of other nation-states.  Furthermore, the increase in indictments under the lese majeste creates conflicts with Thailand’s own constitution.Section 8 of Thailand’s constitution essentially affords the king inviolable status and grants him the greatest degree of reverence.  Any expressions, such as accusatory remarks or slander against King Bhumibol, can be punished by imprisonment for up to 15 months.  However, even more troublesome is the fact that nowhere in the legal codes of Thailand is there a definition or explanation of what sorts of statements constitute violations of the king.

Numerous individuals, from activists to news reporters, have been imprisoned.  The latest statistics from 2008 reveal that there are over 77 open cases of lese majeste cases.  The two latest alleged violators of Thailand’s greatly imposed  lese majeste law have  the possibility of serving between 10 and 16 years in prison.  A recent appeal in November 2009 reduced one man’s initial 12-year sentence to 2 years.

Much like the two new cases, many lese majeste violators are projected to come under arrest due to Thailand’s Compuer-Related Crimes Act.  Because of the lack of limitations delineated in Thailand’s bodies of law, there do not seem to be any legal restrictions concerning the extent to which Thailand law enforcement can censor and punish internet users who may speak badly of King Bhumibol.

Amnesty International has recently demonstrated its support for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s movement to establish a panel to carefully scrutinize the enforcement of lese majeste laws.

U.N. Says Israeli Blockade Threatens Gazans’ Health

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations said that Israel’s year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip has jeopardized the health of 1.4 million Palestinians and threatens to undermine the crumbling health system in Gaza. On January 20, the U.N. and aid organizations called on Israel to immediately open its borders with Gaza.

 

The blockade is causing “on-going deterioration in the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health,” according to Max Gaylord, the resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the U.N. in Gaza. “It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment outside Gaza.”

 

Israel imposed the blockade after the twenty-two-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. Israeli officials have pointed to the dramatic decrease in rocket attacks from Gaza into Southern Israel as justification for continuing the blockade. Israeli officials did not make any immediate comment after the U.N. statement.

 

During the 2008-2009 war, also known as Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces damaged fifteen of Gaza’s twenty-seven hospitals, as well as damaged or destroyed forty-three out of one hundred-ten primary care facilities, according to the U.N. Patients who need advanced medical care at Israeli hospitals must apply for Israeli permits to enter into Israel, a process that is often unsuccessful.

 

Such was the case of Fida Hejji, an eighteen-year-old Gazan student with Hodgkin’s disease. Fida had made three appointments at Israeli hospitals for bone marrow transplants, but each time the Israeli authorities did not respond in time with the requisite entry permit. Three days after Fida died in November 2009, her family received word Fida had been granted a permit to an Israeli hospital.

 

While Israel and Egypt have opened their borders to basic humanitarian goods, the supply is often not enough to meet demand. Additionally, construction supplies have not been allowed into Gaza, so the damaged or destroyed health centers have been unable to rebuild.

 

Matters appear to be growing worse as winter grips the region. The flooded Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City, has forced thousands of Palestinians to flee to evacuate their homes and farms. But in a region the size of the American capital, Washington DC, it is unclear where these people will go. Besides the flooding, local fuel suppliers warn of an impending fuel shortage, as only one hundred tons of fuel per week have been allowed through the blockade, in contrast with the needed three hundred tons.

 

Many Gazans fear a humanitarian crisis is now inevitable.

 

For more information, please see:

 

BBC News – UN Warns Israeli Blockade Puts Gazans’ Health at Risk – 20 January 2010

 

Ma’an News Agency – Gaza Fuel Union Rep Warns of Impending Shortage Crisis – 20 January 2010

 

Palestinian News Network – Floods in the Gaza Strip Force Hundreds to Flee – 20 January 2010

 

Times of India – Israeli Blockade Jeopardising Health of 1.4 mn Palestinians – 20 January 2010

 

Washington Post – World Aid Agencies Appeal to Israel to Unlock Gaza – 20 January 2010

U.N. Says Israeli Blockade Threatens Gazans’ Health

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations said that Israel’s year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip has jeopardized the health of 1.4 million Palestinians and threatens to undermine the crumbling health system in Gaza.  On January 20, the U.N. and aid organizations called on Israel to immediately open its borders with Gaza.

The blockade is causing “on-going deterioration in the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health,” according to Max Gaylord, the resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the U.N. in Gaza.  “It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment outside Gaza.”

Israel imposed the blockade after the twenty-two-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009.  Israeli officials have pointed to the dramatic decrease in rocket attacks from Gaza into Southern Israel as justification for continuing the blockade.  Israeli officials did not make any immediate comment after the U.N. statement.

During the 2008-2009 war, also known as Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces damaged fifteen of Gaza’s twenty-seven hospitals, as well as damaged or destroyed forty-three out of one hundred-ten primary care facilities, according to the U.N.  Patients who need advanced medical care at Israeli hospitals must apply for Israeli permits to enter into Israel, a process that is often unsuccessful.

Such was the case of Fida Hejji, an eighteen-year-old Gazan student with Hodgkin’s disease.  Fida had made three appointments at Israeli hospitals for bone marrow transplants, but each time the Israeli authorities did not respond in time with the requisite entry permit.  Three days after Fida died in November 2009, her family received word Fida had been granted a permit to an Israeli hospital.

While Israel and Egypt have opened their borders to basic humanitarian goods, the supply is often not enough to meet demand.  Additionally, construction supplies have not been allowed into Gaza, so the damaged or destroyed health centers have been unable to rebuild.

Matters appear to be growing worse as winter grips the region.  The flooded Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City, has forced thousands of Palestinians to flee to evacuate their homes and farms.  But in a region the size of the American capital, Washington DC, it is unclear where these people will go.  Besides the flooding, local fuel suppliers warn of an impending fuel shortage, as only one hundred tons of fuel per week have been allowed through the blockade, in contrast with the needed three hundred tons. 

Many Gazans fear a humanitarian crisis is now inevitable.

For more information, please see:

 BBC News – UN Warns Israeli Blockade Puts Gazans’ Health at Risk – 20 January 2010

 Ma’an News Agency – Gaza Fuel Union Rep Warns of Impending Shortage Crisis – 20 January 2010

 Palestinian News Network – Floods in the Gaza Strip Force Hundreds to Flee – 20 January 2010

 Times of India – Israeli Blockade Jeopardising Health of 1.4 mn Palestinians – 20 January 2010

 Washington Post – World Aid Agencies Appeal to Israel to Unlock Gaza – 20 January 2010