MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on human rights situation in North Korea, including the persecution of religious minorities

5.4.2022 - (2022/2620(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure

Željana Zovko, Michael Gahler, David McAllister, Rasa Juknevičienė, Sandra Kalniete, Isabel Wiseler‑Lima, György Hölvényi, Tom Vandenkendelaere, Arba Kokalari, José Manuel Fernandes, Adam Jarubas, Krzysztof Hetman, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, David Lega, Stelios Kympouropoulos, Miriam Lexmann, Vangelis Meimarakis, Antonio López‑Istúriz White, Sara Skyttedal, Janina Ochojska, Tomáš Zdechovský, Michaela Šojdrová, Stanislav Polčák, Paulo Rangel, Peter Pollák, Luděk Niedermayer, Vladimír Bilčík, Jiří Pospíšil, Seán Kelly, Loránt Vincze, Ivan Štefanec, Christian Sagartz, Inese Vaidere
on behalf of the PPE Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0183/2022

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B9‑0195/2022

European Parliament resolution on human rights situation in North Korea, including the persecution of religious minorities

(2022/2620(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),

 

-  having regard to the statement of 25 March 2022, by G7 Foreign Ministers and the High Representative of the EU on the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

 

-  having regard to the latest sanctions of 22 March 2021 by the EU for the serious violations of human rights in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

 

-  having regard to the report of 21 March 2022 by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

 

-  having regard to the UN Security Council Resolutions 2356(2017), 2371(2017), 2375(2017) and 2097(2017), which explicitly ban nuclear tests by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

 

-  having regard to the UN General Assembly Resolution of 16 December 2021 on the situation of human rights of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

 

-  having regard to Rule 144 of its Rules of Procedure,

 

1. whereas the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) investigated ‘the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights’ in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and released a report on 7 February 2014; whereas the CoI concluded in its report that the gravity, scale and nature of Pyongyang’s human rights violations reveal a State without any parallel in the contemporary world’;

 

2. whereas the human rights violations  in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea haven’t been improved since the release of the 2014 COI report; whereas the extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, slavery, as well as arbitrary detention perpetrated by DPRK regime, in particular persecution on religious belief, are ongoing and systematic; whereas Christianity is considered as a serious threat to state’s loyalty and to the power of the leader, and it is therefore ferociously oppressed; whereas according to Open Doors, North Korea is the country with the most persecution on Christians and it’s estimated there are approximately 400,000 Christians in North Korea and around 50,000 to 70,000 citizens are in prison for being Christian;

 

3. whereas there are four churches erected in Pyongyang, some possibly with with foreign donations, including one Catholic, two Protestant and one Russian Orthodox;; whereas under the Kim’s family regime, some non-foreign Catholic priests were executed, and some Protestant leaders who did not renounce their faith were purged as "American spies;

 

4. whereas the government restricts the freedom of expression and access to information, and may have enacted new laws that include the death penalty for accessing information from abroad; whereas Kwanliso (political prison camps) remain operational and are fundamental to the control of the population; whereas it’s estimated 80,000 to 120,000 people are detained in prison camps, where they endure dire living conditions and brutal torture. Many of these are Christians; whereas the DPRK regime routinely and systematically requires forced labor from much of its population to sustain its economy, notably extracts from Kwanliso;

 

5. whereas the DPRK regime has rejected all UN Human Rights Council, General Assembly and Security Council resolutions;

 

6. whereas North Korea is more isolated than ever under the prolonged border shutdown and travel restrictions between cities, regions and countries since January 2020, as part of the government’s unspecified measures to COVID-19;

 

7. whereas G7 Foreign Ministers and High Representative of the EU jointly stated that the dire humanitarian situation in the DPRK is the result of the DPRK´s diversion of the DPRK’s resources into weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs rather than into the welfare of its people;

 

1. Reiterates its strong condemnation of the decades-long state repression exercised in a systematic manner by the present and past Supreme Leaders of the DPRK and the administration; calls on the DPRK to put an immediate end to the grave, widespread and systematic human rights violations perpetrated against its own people;

 

2. Calls on the DPRK to end the violent, targeted persecution of anyone related to religions across the nation; urges to release all persons currently detained with unjustified reasons immediately and unconditionally; Stops charging defectors from the nation with ‘treachery’ or requesting that defectors into China be returned to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;

 

3. Condemns the severe restrictions on the freedoms of movement, expression, information, peaceful assembly and association, as well as discrimination based on the songbun system, which classifies people on the basis of state-assigned social class and birth, and also includes consideration of political opinions and religion;

 

4. Calls on the DPRK immediately and permanently to stop public and secret executions and to abolish the death penalty; calls on the DPRK to put an end to extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and collective punishment, to close all prison camps, 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 uncensored access to the internet for its citizens;

 

5. Calls on the DPRK to review its COVID-19 quarantine measures in line with international law and ensure they are necessary, proportionate, non-discriminatory, time-bound and transparent; Commends the work of the 1718 Committee, which has swiftly approved all Covid-19 related sanctions exemption requests for humanitarian assistance for the DPRK;

 

6. Strongly urges the DPRK to fully comply with all legal obligations deriving from the relevant UN Security Council resolutions;

 

7. Calls on the DPRK to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner;

 

8. Calls on the DPRK to continue to engage constructively with international interlocutors with a view to promoting concrete improvements in the human rights situation on the ground, including through dialogues, official visits to the country and more people-to-people contact;

 

9. 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 governments and parliaments of the Member States, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, the government and parliament of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the government and parliament of the Republic of Korea, the Government and Parliament of the People’s Republic of China, the Government and Parliament of the United States, the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation, the Government and Parliament of Japan, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, and the UN Secretary-General.