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A North Korean flag flies next to an accordion wire at the North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 9, 2017. |
A London-based nonprofit has launched a comprehensive database of human rights abuses and atrocities involving North Korea’s criminal justice system, its website said on Tuesday.
“A vast system of correctional institutions stretches across North Korea,” Korea Future said. “The construction of these facilities – capable of holding hundreds of thousands of people suspected or accused of crimes – has enabled massive and flagrant violations of international law with catastrophic human consequences.”
The group says it is committed to advancing accountability for widespread and serious human rights abuses in North Korea.
For the online archive, North Korea’s prison database, Korea Future said it conducted 259 detailed in-person interviews with survivors, perpetrators and witnesses over nine months starting in March last year.
To date, he adds, “we have identified 597 perpetrators linked to 5,181 human rights violations committed against 785 detainees in 148 penitentiary establishments”. The cases occurred between 1991 and 2019, according to the group, which campaigns for faster justice and accountability.
It plans to update the database on a quarterly basis and provide it to international organizations upon request. (Yonhap)
