SEOUL– The head of the U.N. human rights agency’s office in Seoul on Tuesday voiced concerns that North Korea has become a “black box” in terms of human rights situations, as it is hard to know what’s happening from the outside following its COVID-19 border controls.

Speaking at a seminar on the North’s rights records, James Heenan, representative of the U.N. Human Rights Office in Seoul, called for more actions to improve the North’s dismal rights situation.

“Since the COVID(-19) lockdown, the DPRK has essentially become a black box in terms of human rights. We don’t know to any great extent exactly what is happening in the country,” Heenan said, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “This is incredibly concerning. In simple terms, we know that bad things happen when there’s no scrutiny or transparency.”
In his video message to the forum, Michael Kirby, the former chair of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on the North’s human rights, called on South Korea to establish a foundation on North Korea’s human rights situation.

“The establishment of a human rights foundation is appropriate and urgent in the conditions of North Korea,” he said, adding such a move is critical in helping improve the rights records.

The creation of a North Korean human rights foundation has been delayed for years, as the main opposition party, which holds a majority seats at the National Assembly, has not recommended its share of five candidates for a 12-member board committee.

Kirby also voiced hope that South Korea will “reverse” its failure to support a U.N. resolution on North Korea’s human rights records in recent years under the former liberal Moon Jae-in government.

The conservative Yoon Suk-yeol administration has taken a proactive stance in dealing with the North’s rights issues. South Korea co-sponsored a U.N. draft resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights conditions this year, in a shift from a low-key approach for four years under the preceding liberal Moon government.

Source: Yonhap News Agency