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영어

This article has explored the role of the United Nations human rights bodies in relation to the North Korean human rights situation. It has provided a review of the growing roles of the United Nations in the establishment of international human rights norms and institutions. It has also discussed the longstanding ideological tension between the category of civil and political rights and the category of economic, social and cultural rights. The state of North Korean human rights has been critically elucidated with special focus on the report of the Commission of Inquiry on North Korean human rights situation last year and the ensuing discussion and follow-up measures. While there have been yearly introduction and adoption of draft resolutions on North Korean human rights situation over the last two decades in the United Nations human rights bodies, the Commission’s report is much more significant in that it represents a systematic and authoritative investigation into the North Korean human rights situation. In particular, the Commission provided a compelling ground for characterizing the North Korean case as the crimes against humanity. This article argues that the case of North Korean human rights situation illustrates that the category of civil and political rights should be given priority over the category of economic and social rights. In addition, this article, concurring with the Commission of Inquiry, contends that the state of North Korean human rights situation pertains to the category of crimes against humanity. Thus, it is noteworthy that the international community under the leadership of the United Nations is exploring all the means available to address North Korean human rights situation including the roles of the Security Council, the International Criminal Court.