N.Korea

UN rights expert: North Korea leader should be held criminally responsible for abuses

The UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea Marzuki Darusman [official profile] called[press release] Friday for leader Kim Jong-un [BBC profile] to be held criminally responsible for the human rights conditions in the nation. While on a five-day mission in Japan, following a recent nuclear test [BBC report] by North Korea, the expert criticized the country for having shown no improvement of its human rights situation two years after he filed a report of the Commission of Inquiry. Darusman called for "international community to step up efforts to engage with the DPRK in human rights dialogue while seeking to ensure accountability." He also noted that relations between Japan and North Korea have been deteriorating due in part to the forced disappearances of Japanese citizens by North Korea. Darusman is nearing the end of his term as an independent expert for the UN, and he has never been granted visitation into North Korea by its government.