International Human Rights Days

Since 2010, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances has been recognized on the 30th of August, highlighting the effects this atrocious crime has on the victims, their families, and communities, as well as its overarching impact on the concepts of human rights and dignity. 

Enforced disappearances occur, by definition of Amnesty International, when “individuals are secretly abducted or imprisoned by state officials or others acting with state authorization or support. These individuals are often held in secret, without any legal process, and their fate and whereabouts remain unknown, placing them outside the protection of the law.” Victims of enforced disappearance lose access to numerous human rights written into international law, including, but not limited to: 

• The right to liberty and security of the person

• The right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

• The right to a fair trial and to judicial guarantees

• The right to know the truth regarding the circumstances of a disappearance

• The right to an adequate standard of living

• The right to health

When committed on a widespread or systematic scale, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance state that enforced disappearance “qualifies as a crime against humanity and, thus, is not subject to a statute of limitations.” Cases of enforced disappearance are not random occurrences; they are carefully planned to target specific groups of people. Such cases are used to generate fear, uncertainty, and hostility within societies as a method to control and manipulate. Some of the most common victims of enforced disappearance are political dissenters, human rights defenders, journalists, and legal parties representing opposition to the state, as well as victims’ close family and friends.

To understand why cases of enforced disappearance are so effective in controlling and manipulating a society, it is important to examine how the practice affects all levels of society. At the most individual level, the victim’s entire perception of reality is turned upside-down against their own will. What becomes of their lives is known only by themselves and their perpetrators. If, in the rare instance, they are released, the persistent fear for their lives will permanently affect their well-being, and by extension, all of their relationships, and their ability to resume normal lives. Family and friends of victims are left to endure hardships of their own. In many cases, the forcibly disappeared person is also the breadwinner of the family. Thus, not only do the victim’s family members suffer from having no way to discover their loved one’s whereabouts, but their quality of life drastically decreases. As many of the breadwinners are men, women are subject to more frequent episodes of violence. Family members’ fear that they too could be subject to enforced disappearance can take an enormous toll on their mental health, and the remaining adults are left to make the difficult decision to either search for their loved one, or continue tending to the family home. Although victims’ families are permitted by international law to seek reparations and know what has become of their loved ones, their national government often makes this process inaccessible and unattainable. As mentioned earlier, enforced disappearances often target specific demographics, such as by profession, race, religion, or political beliefs. When people begin to disappear into the tens and hundreds, whole communities are eventually affected as their economic and communal well-being deteriorates. 

Of the countless existing cases of enforced disappearance around the world, perhaps one of the lesser known is the case of North Korea. Enforced disappearances conducted by North Korea can be separated into two broad categories: disappearances within the state, and disappearances from outside the state. Within North Korea, enforced disappearances occur most commonly against people perceived to be a threat to the regime, or those who have committed a crime against the regime. Those citizens of a lower songbun (social class), are more likely to be targeted, and are monitored more closely by the government considering their “hostile” status. 

The enforced disappearances conducted outside of North Korea occurred most extensively in the Korean War period against South Korea. Around 100,000 non-combatants were forcibly abducted during the war, most of whom were male. These men were taken for their skills, labor abilities, and knowledge about the inner-workings of the South Korean government and military strategy. By abducting these people, North Korea could both remove intellectuals from South Korea, and gain manpower for post-war rehabilitation simultaneously. Even still, the regime insists these men were volunteered by the South Korean government to move to the North. Similarly, approximately 50,000 South Korean soldiers were taken as prisoners of war (POWs) during the three-year fighting period. However, even after the call for armistice, an approximate 41,000 soldiers were never returned, despite the South’s 11 calls for these soldiers in the period between 1953-1964. To this day, North Korea insists these soldiers were not held against their will. 

After the war, North Korea carried out yet another series of abductions from the mid-1950’s to the 1970’s. Of the 3,835 abducted, 516 have not yet returned to South Korea. Like those abducted during the war, these victims were sought out for their skills, physical labor abilities, and knowledge of South Korea. From 1959-1984, North Korea forcefully displaced approximately 93,340 Zainichi Koreans (Koreans living in Japan) by way of the “Paradise on Earth” operation. This operation was, among several reasons, a way to further enlist labor to help rebuild North Korea post-war. Those forcibly displaced were convinced of good jobs and living conditions that lay ahead, only to realize upon their arrival that they were a part of the lowest social class, and were further subjected to discrimination and exploitation with no ability to return to Japan or South Korea. Even as recently as 2016, North Korea has forcibly disappeared both South Korean nationals and foreign civilians. Of these cases, six of the South Korean victims were abducted near the China-North Korea border. 

Considering the case of North Korea, and by extension other similar cases of enforced disappearance around the globe, the most important question to ask is what we as a society can do to address the issue. Unfortunately, the majority of victims of enforced disappearance will die before ever regaining contact with their families. Despite this, it is imperative to, to the best of our ability, provide victims’ families with information about what came to be of their loved ones. The knowledge of the victims’ fates, no matter how grim, can provide families with the solace, closure, and answers they have been searching for for years. Addressing such a complex topic may seem overly daunting for many; however, even the smallest actions contribute to justice for victims and the potential for reducing the number of such cases. Attending campaigns and demonstrations, sharing information on social media, and donating to or volunteering at local NGOs or other organizations are all ways in which we can begin to tackle the crime that is enforced disappearance.

Below is a list of NGOs in South Korea working to raise awareness about the human rights situation in North Korea: 

1. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (북한인권위원회): https://www.hrnk.org/  

2. Committee for the Democratization of North Korea (북한민주화위원회): http://www.cdnk.co.kr/

3. Dream makers for NK (물망초): https://www.mulmangcho.org/                               

4. Family Union of Korean POWs Detained in North Korea (국군포로가족회): https://www.625pow.or.kr/ 

5. FFNK (자유북한운동연합): http://www.ffnk.net/

6. Free to Move (자유왕래회)        

7. Good Friends (좋은벗들): https://www.goodfriends.or.kr/

8. Hand and Heart (손과마음): https://cafe.daum.net/hanawolim2015

9. Happy Reunification (행복한 통일로): http://www.happyuni.kr/board/index.php

10. INKHR (북한인권증진센터): http://inkhr.or.kr/   

11. JFNK (북한정의연대): https://www.justice4nk.org 

12. Kim Sang-chul Memorial Society (김상철 기념사업회): https://kimsangchul.org/ 

13. KNSI (새로운 코리아구상을 위한 연구원): http://knsi.org/knsi/kor/index/index.php 

14. LINK: https://libertyinnorthkorea.or.kr/ 

15. NAUH (나우): https://nauh.or.kr/ 

16. NKDB (북한인권정보센터): https://en.nkdb.org/               

17. NKHR (북한인권시민연합): https://www.nkhr.or.kr/en/ 

18. NKnet (북한민주화네트워크): http://www.nknet.org/index.php 

19. New Korea Women's Center (뉴코리아여성연합): http://nkcw.kr/ 

20. NK Imprisonment Victims’ Family Association (NK감금피해자가족회): https://nkv.modoo.at/           

21. North Korea Human Rights Strategy Forum (북한인권전략포럼): https://www.facebook.com/www.nkforum.net 

22. North Korea Reform Radio (북한개혁방성): http://www.nkreform.com/

23. North Korea Strategy Center (북한전략센터): https://www.nksc.co.kr/

24. North Korean Human Rights Movement Coalition (북한인권 민주화실천운동연합): http://nkhrd.org/

25. Our Hana Foundation (우리하나재단): https://woorihana.org/ 

26. Solidarity for the Reunification of the Republic of Korea (겨레얼통일연대): http://nkplf.co.kr/  

27. THINK (탈북청소년): https://www.touchnk.com/  

28. TJWG (전환기 정의 워킹그룹): https://en.tjwg.org/ 

29. Tongil Mom (통일맘연합회): http://tongilmom.com/     

30. Unification Academy (통일아카데미): https://www.facebook.com/Unificationacademy/ 

31. Unification Media Group (국민통일방성): https://www.uni-media.net/

32. Youth Forum of North Korea Democratization (북한민주화 청년학생포럼): https://yfnkd.or.kr/ko/index.html

Sources

Honoring an Invisible Struggle: International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, 30 August

Written by Lauren Yhip for Yonsei GSIS Human Rights Hub