As the wave of headlines related to Dennis Rodman's controversial visit to the Hermit Kingdom finally subsides, religious freedom advocates have a real North Korea story to pay attention to.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has agreed to formally investigate the "systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights" in North Korea–a move described by Christian Solidarity Worldwide as a "long-awaited, groundbreaking resolution ... after years of advocacy and campaigning."
CSW has advocated for such a U.N. investigation since 2007, and in 2011 helped gather more than 40 human rights organizations into the International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK). Per CSW:
This call was echoed earlier this year by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, while the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, Marzuki Darusman, described the North Korean government's human rights abuses as "egregious" and recommended the establishment of "a more detailed mechanism of inquiry" in his most recent report.
CT has regularly reported on North Korea, including its rank as the world's worst persecutor of Christians, the death of longtime ruler Kim Jong-Il, and its protest of South Korean Christmas trees.
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