MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in North Korea
19.1.2016 - (2016/2521(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Klaus Buchner, Barbara Lochbihler, Igor Šoltes, Bodil Valero, Davor Škrlec, Ernest Urtasun, Heidi Hautala on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0083/2016
The European Parliament,
-having regard to its previous resolutions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),
-Having regard to the Security Council press statement of 6 January 2016,
-having regard to the statement by the HR/VP Federica Mogherini on the alleged nuclear test in DPRK of 6 January 2016,
-having regard to the statement of 25 June 2014 on the 14th Session of the EU-DPRK Political Dialogue,
-having regard to the UN report on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of 8 September 2015,
-having regard to the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 2014 on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,
-having regard to the relevant resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council, notably the one adopted on 8 April 2015 on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,
-having regard to the report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea of February 2014,
-having regard to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report, Needs and Priorities 2015, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, of 6 April 2015,
-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to all relevant international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, adopted and ratified by the DPRK,
-having regard to the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
-having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas the Council of the European Union and the UN Security Council condemned what the DPRK claimed to have been a 'successful hydrogen bomb test' conducted on 6 January 2016, which clearly violates its international obligations under the UN Security Council resolutions and poses a serious threat to regional and international peace and security;
B.whereas on 8 July 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its advisory opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons stipulated that "the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the use of international law" and whereas there exists an obligation of all states "to pursue in good faith and to bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control";
C. whereas North Korea's pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes constitutes a clear breach of the ICJ advisory opinion and risks aggravating regional tensions;
D. whereas DPRK’s focus on military investments can be considered criminal negligence of the basic needs of its citizens in view of the fact that some 70 percent of the 24.6 million North Koreans are food insecure and that almost 30 percent of under-five children are acutely malnourished;
D.whereas the EU has strongly supported the idea of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, and considers the resumption of the Six-Party Talks to be essential for peace and stability in the region; would however add much to its conviction power if it decided to lead by example;
E.whereas the DPRK regime has hardly cooperated with the UN and has not acted upon the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolutions regarding human rights in North Korea; it has refused to extend an invitation to 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 under the special procedures;
F.whereas the UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) investigated ‘the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights’ in North Korea and released a report on 7 February 2014; whereas the CoI has come to the conclusion that ‘systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed by the DPRK, and in many instances, the violations found constitute crimes against humanity based on State policies’ and do not have ‘any parallel in the contemporary world’;
G. whereas the EU-DPRK human rights dialogue resumed in 2015 after being suspended by the DPRK since 2003;
H. whereas the UN General Assembly takes note that in the DPRK extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, collective punishments extending up to three generations, extensive use of forced labour continue unhampered;
I. Whereas the government practices forcible transfer of populations while imposing strict limits on citizens' movements inside and outside the country, arbitrary detention and disappearances, including in the form of abductions of foreign nationals, interning more than 200 000 people in prison and ‘re-education' camps;
I.whereas the people of the DPRK have been exposed to decades of under-development, with poor health care and high levels of maternal and child malnutrition, in a context of political and economic isolation, recurrent natural disasters and international increases in food and fuel prices; whereas large parts of the population are dependent on international food aid; whereas tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to China;
1.Condemns the nuclear tests and missile activities carried out by the DPRK, and urges it to refrain from further provocative actions by suspending all activities related to its ballistic missile programme and abandoning, in a complete and irreversible manner, the existing nuclear programmes; calls on the DPRK to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty without delay;
2.welcomes the UN Security Council statement and the debate on the further strengthening of sanctions by the Council following the most recent nuclear test; calls on the DPRK to choose a constructive path by engaging with the international community, which would be conducive to regional stability and improve the welfare of the North Korean people;
3.Urges the DPRK to re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launches and to re-join the Non-Proliferation Treaty; underlines the need to intensify efforts to strengthen the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; recalls the final statement of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference expressing ‘deep concern at the catastrophic consequences of any use of nuclear weapons’ and reaffirming ‘the need for all States at all times to comply with applicable international law, including international humanitarian law’;
4.Affirms its desire for a diplomatic and political solution to the DPRK nuclear issue; reiterates its support for the Six-Party Talks and calls for their resumption; urges all the participants in the Six-Party Talks to intensify their efforts; 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;
5.Calls on the People’s Republic of China – a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the DPRK’s main trading ally – to exert its influence over the DPRK to ensure that the situation does not escalate further, and notes the support of the People’s Republic of China for UN Security Council resolution 2094 (2013); notes the consensus among the members of the UN Security Council reacting to the recent nuclear test by the DPRK;
6.Underlines in this context the need to intensify worldwide efforts towards nuclear disarmament; calls for interim and confidence-building measures;
7.Reiterates its strong condemnation of the decade-long state repression exercised in a systematic manner by the present and past Supreme Leaders of the DPRK and the administration, and calls on the DPRK to put an immediate end to the grave, widespread and systematic human rights violations perpetrated against its own people;
8.Underlines the fact that the violations described in the CoI report, many of which constitute crimes against humanity, have been taking place for far too long under the observing eyes of the international community, and appeals to the EU Member States and all members of the UN General Assembly to move the suffering of the North Korean population to the forefront of the political agenda and to ensure that the CoI’s recommendations are followed up;
9.Is convinced that the time has come for the international community to take concrete action to end the perpetrators’ impunity; demands that those most responsible for the crimes against humanity committed in the DPRK be held accountable, brought before the International Criminal Court and subjected to targeted sanctions;
10.Calls on the Government of the DPRK to fulfil its obligations under the human rights instruments to which it is a party, and to ensure that humanitarian organisations, independent human rights monitors and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK have access to the country and are provided with the necessary cooperation;
11.Calls on the government to declare a moratorium on all executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty in the near future; calls on the DPRK to put an end to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, to release political prisoners and to allow its citizens to travel freely, both within and outside the country; calls on the DPRK to allow free expression and press freedom for national and international media, and to allow its citizens uncensored access to the internet;
12.calls on the government to urgently resolve the issue of systematic abduction of persons including from other countries and calls urgently on the government to ensure the immediate return of abductees;
13. Re-iterates its call on those countries who are recipients of refugees from the DPRK to respect the -951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 protocol to not to send any North Korean refugee back to the DPRK;
14.Expresses its particular concern about the severity of the food situation the country is facing and its impact on the economic, social and cultural rights of the population; calls on the Commission to maintain existing humanitarian aid programmes and channels of communication with the DPRK, and to secure their safe delivery to the targeted parts of the population; calls on the DPRK authorities to ensure access for all citizens to food and humanitarian assistance on the basis of need, in accordance with humanitarian principles;
15.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the EU Special Representative on Human Rights, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, and the UN Secretary-General.