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Tomas Ohea Quintana, the UN’s special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea, holds a press conference at the Seoul Press Center on Jan. 11. (Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer)
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Tomas Ohea Quintana calls for discussion for easing or lifting sanctions
The UN’s special rapporteur for human rights in North Korea said that the North Korean people’s quality of life is deteriorating because of sanctions imposed on the North by the UN and various countries, including the US, and called for a discussion of easing or lifting those sanctions. “The current sanctions [by the UN and the governments of various countries] are contributing to the horrible socioeconomic situation of the North Korean people,” said the rapporteur, Tomas Ohea Quintana, during a press conference at the Seoul Press Center on the afternoon of Jan. 11. “The issue of sanctions will have to be addressed as soon as possible,” Quintana said. “When I asked defectors what they thought about the UN, I got conflicting answers. Some of them said the UN is a helpful organization that provides food, while others said that the UN sanctions had made the lives of the people more difficult,” Quintana said. During Quintana’s stay in South Korea, he had the chance to meet these defectors at Hanawon, a facility that helps North Korean defectors establish themselves in the South. “Humanitarian cooperation needs to take place regardless of politics. The international community is urged to continue funding various programs that provide humanitarian aid [to North Korea],” Quintana said in a statement released on Friday. After noting that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had said in his New Year’s address that improving public quality of life is a “top priority for the party and the state,” Quintana said, “This suggests that North Korea’s leader is aware of the difficulties faced by ordinary people, and such awareness is the first step toward improving human rights.” Quintana repeatedly emphasized during the press conference that “human rights should definitely be included on the agenda” of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula this year. By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
