The Korea Herald

지나쌤

EU to discuss N.K. rights

By Korea Herald

Published : March 18, 2012 - 19:00

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The EU Ambassador has called for North Korea to restart talks with European countries on human rights ahead of a conference to connect South Korean and European rights groups in Seoul.

Tomasz Kolowski is to attend the opening conference of the EU-Korea Human Rights and Democratic Transition Dialogue Program, which aims to connect organizations fighting human rights violations in North Korea.

“We call on North Korea to re-engage in meaningful bilateral dialogue with the EU and its member states on human rights and to allow access to the UN Special Rapportuer on Human Rights in North Korea,” he said.

He said that the EU continued to hold concerns about North Korean defectors being forcibly returned from China, adding: “The EU is concerned about the risk of mistreatment if returned to the DPRK. The EU has raised it in the past in the UN framework and with our dialogue partners, and will continue to do so.”

Kolowski is to make opening remarks at the EU-supported conference on March 21 along with Christian Hegemer, director of the Institute for International Cooperation, and Tae-woo Kim, president of Korea Institute for National Unification.

The event organized by The Hanns-Seidel-Foundation and Korean groups will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the National Assembly Members’ Office Conference Room.

Experts will discuss the human rights situation in North Korea in light of the European experience of moving on from the Cold War.

Korean participants are People for the Successful Corean Unification, North Korean Intellectual Solidarity and the North Korea Human Rights Database Center.

“We hope to make the European experiences on human rights issues and in particular democratic transition after Cold War available to Korea,” said Bernhard Seliger of the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea Office. “With this program we want to stimulate dialogue on human rights between European and Korea civil society organizations.

“The dilemma of finding a delicate balance between rapprochement and defense of human rights has been a dilemma in Europe during the Cold War as it is today in many parts of the world, among them in particular North Korea.

“Our program hopes to convey some of the European experiences by bringing leading actors of Eastern European civil society and European civil society organizations together with our Korean partners.”

The program was launched in January and more events will follow throughout the year.