MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on nuclear threats and human rights in North Korea
11.3.2013 - (2013/2565(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Jelko Kacin, Leonidas Donskis, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Louis Michel, Marielle de Sarnez, Robert Rochefort, Edward McMillan-Scott, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, Marietje Schaake on behalf of the ALDE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0132/2013
B7‑0132/2013
European Parliament resolution on nuclear threats and human rights in North Korea
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the Korean peninsula,
– having regard to UN Security Council Resolution 2087, adopted unanimously on 22 January 2013,
– having regard to the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of 18 February 2013 on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),
– having regard to the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
– having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 1718, of 14 October 2006, and 1874, of 12 June 2009,
– having regard to the resolution of the UN General Assembly (Third Committee) on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, adopted at its 64th session on 19 November 2009,
– having regard to the UN Human Rights Council report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, Vitit Muntarbhorn[1], and to the UN General Assembly report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, Marzuki Darusman[2],
– having regard to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on human rights and other human rights instruments,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the nuclear test carried out by the DPRK on 12 February 2013 represents a serious threat to regional and international peace and security, and is, furthermore, a serious affront to the principles set out in the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT);
B. whereas the pursuit of illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes constitutes a challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and risks aggravating regional tensions; whereas these programmes do not serve the DPRK’s claimed objective of improving its security;
C. whereas the EU strongly favours the idea of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula;
D. whereas the DPRK recently reneged on all peace agreements with the Republic of Korea (RoK) and cut the hotline between Pyongyang and Seoul;
Human rights
E. whereas the human rights and humanitarian situation in the DPRK remains deplorable and extremely worrying, while the change in leadership has not prompted any signs of positive developments in these areas;
F. whereas the DPRK Government is violating the human rights of its citizens with impunity by depriving large sectors of its population of food, through collective punishments and forced labour camps, and by imprisoning more than 200 000 people in political prison camps; whereas the state authorities systematically perpetrate extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention and disappearances;
G. whereas according to the Special Rapporteurs on North Korea, some of the human rights violations committed by the DPRK Government may amount to crimes against humanity;
H. whereas the DPRK Government has also violated the rights of thousands of foreigners who have been abducted and ‘disappeared’, but has denied any involvement in these cases and refuses to cooperate with third-country governments in order to shed light on them;
I. whereas the DPRK regime has not cooperated with the UN and has rejected all UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolutions regarding human rights in North Korea; whereas it has failed to cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the country, and has rejected all assistance from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;
J. whereas the justice system is subservient to the state, while the death penalty is in force for a broad range of crimes against the state and is extended periodically under the criminal code, with citizens, including children, being forced to witness public executions;
K. whereas the DPRK Government does not allow organised political opposition, free and fair elections, free media, religious freedom, freedom of association or collective bargaining;
1. Condemns the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK on 12 February 2013, which was in breach of its international obligations under UN Security Council Resolutions 1718, 1874 and 2087, and demands that the DPRK abstain from further tests; calls on the DPRK to sign and ratify the CTBT without delay;
2. Welcomes the UN Security Council vote of 7 March 2013 strengthening the sanctions on the DPRK following the most recent nuclear test; also strongly condemns the DPRK’s announced suspension of its non-aggression pact with the RoK;
3. Deplores the DPRK’s choice of the path of provocation and isolation, in defiance of the international community’s united condemnation of its use of ballistic missile technology on 12 December 2012; believes that the pursuit by the DPRK of its illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes constitutes a grave challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and risks aggravating regional tensions;
4. Calls on the DPRK to re-engage constructively with the international community, and in particular the members of the Six-Party Talks, in order to work towards lasting peace and security on a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and as the best means to secure a more prosperous and stable future for the DPRK;
Human rights
5. Calls on the DPRK to put an immediate end to the ongoing grave, widespread and systematic human rights violations perpetrated against its own people, which may amount to crimes against humanity and thus be subject to international criminal jurisdiction;
6. Calls on the DPRK to: 1) halt public executions and abolish the death penalty; 2) end extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances; 3) stop the use of torture and forced labour; 4) end the practice of collective punishment; 5) release political prisoners; and 6) allow its citizens freedom of travel;
7. Calls on the DPRK authorities to ensure access to food and humanitarian assistance for all citizens on the basis of need;
8. Calls on the DPRK to allow free expression and press freedom, as well as uncensored access to the internet for its citizens;
9. Calls on the DPRK Government to hand over all information on EU citizens and third‑country nationals suspected to have been abducted by its state agents over recent decades, to ensure that a comprehensive investigation is carried out, leading to a transparent and satisfactory outcome, and immediately to release those abductees still being held in the country;
10. Calls on the UN to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate, as a matter of urgency, the systematic violations of human rights by the DPRK Government, both past and present and with particular reference to the prison camps, and to determine to what extent the violations and impunity associated with these abuses may constitute crimes against humanity; in addition, stresses the need to recommend concrete measures to address the human rights violations at both national and international level;
11. Calls on the EU, in view of the gravity of the situation, to appoint a special representative on the DPRK, in order to ensure persistent attention and coordination, both within the Union and with key partners such as the US and the RoK;
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Member States, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the Governments of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China, and the UN Secretary-General.