State Department’s Annual Human Rights Report Released

The State Department’s 2007 annual human rights country reports were released yesterday. Recall that a Washington Post columnist recently printed some leaked e-mails in which Glyn Davies of the State Department’s odious Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) had tried to lean on the authors of the report to “sacrifice a few adjectives for the cause.” Words to have been eliminated are in brackets, those to have been added are in italics:

“The [repressive] North Korean government[regime] continued to control almost all aspects of citizens’ lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and restricting freedom of movement and workers’ rights. Reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political prisoners, continue to emerge [from the isolated country]. Some forcibly repatriated refugees were said to have undergone severe punishment and possibly torture. Reports of public executions continued to surface[were on the rise]. [Washington Post]

The leak appears to have shamed State and foiled EAP’s plans. In the end, State published neither version and reverted to language very similar to the introduction of last year’s report. Here is what the introduction to the 2007 report actually said:

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea)* is a dictatorship under the absolute rule of Kim Jong-il, general secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) and chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC), the “highest office of state.” The country has an estimated population of 23.1 million. Kim’s father, the late Kim Il-sung, remains “eternal president.” Local elections held in July were not free or fair. There was no civilian control of the security forces, and members of the security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses.

The government’s human rights record remained poor, and the regime continued to commit numerous serious abuses. The regime subjected citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives. Articles of the constitution that require citizens to follow “socialist norms of life” and to obey a “collective spirit” took precedence over individual political and civil liberties. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There continued to be reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political prisoners. Prison conditions were harsh and life-threatening, and torture occurred. Pregnant female prisoners underwent forced abortions in some cases, and in other cases babies were killed upon birth in prisons. The judiciary was not independent and did not provide fair trials. Citizens were denied freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and association, and the government attempted to control all information. The government restricted freedom of religion, citizens’ movement, and worker rights. There continued to be reports of severe punishment of some repatriated refugees. There were widespread reports of trafficking in women and girls among refugees and workers crossing the border into China. [link to full 2007 report]

This language is certainly far better than what EAP had wanted, and it’s still a study in understatment. For example, you could read this report without knowing why or how many women were in North Korean “prisons,” or even think that they were there for having committed what would pass for crimes among civilized humanity. Two recent refugee massacres occurred too late to be in the latest report, but the available evidence suggests that if anything, repression in North Korea is actually becoming more severe, arbitrary, and desperate. State’s words might have added some pressure on the regime to at least restain some of the worst mass murders. For obvious political reasons, State is dodging that responsibility.

A State Department mouthpiece made himself available for questions when the report was released. In his opening remarks, he cited North Korea as his first example of a country “in which power was concentrated in the hands of [an] unaccountable ruler[],” and which remained one of the world’s most systematic human rights violators:

QUESTION: Yes. (Inaudible) from Radio Free Asia. I don’t think there is any big difference from — between last year’s report on North Korea and the current version of (inaudible) report. And what is the general assessment of the human rights situation in North Korea? Is it deteriorating or improving this year?

MR. FARRAR: Yeah, I think the report on North Korea shows that, you know, they fail to protect basic human rights there. There’s — there are, you know, extreme restrictions on freedom of religion. The introduction describes, you know, that it’s essentially a repressive regime. And you’re correct; there is little change from last year.

[….]

QUESTION: So this year, maybe you have a policy toward North Korean human rights issue and link it with the six-party talks however it’s a new possibility?

MR. FARRAR: I don’t think that that has changed. We’ve always said that human rights are part of a comprehensive agenda with North Korea and discussion of human rights will be part of any future normalization process.

[….]

QUESTION: I’m wondering if you could comment on an item in the Post last week that detailed the deliberations between various bureaus about the language that would be used on the North Korea report. And when the report was released today, it seemed that you ended up reverting to the harsher language. I’m wondering how the Secretary’s priority on the six-party process did influence what the type of language that ended up being used and why you reverted to the language you used.

MR. FARRAR: Yeah, I’m not going to comment on press reports from last week. But I would say in general that the North Korea report, like any other report, reflects the back-and-forth between or among our bureau, regional bureaus and the bureaus of the State Department, drafts that go back and forth, and all in an effort to get it right, to make sure that we prepare a fair and accurate and comprehensive assessment. And in the case of North Korea, that’s particularly challenging. And if you look at the North Korea report, you’ll see that again this year, as in previous years, we include a footnote there on the difficulties we have in gathering information in North Korea. And that’s the only such footnote we have in the entire report.

For comparison, here is the introductory language to the 2006 report:

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is a dictatorship under the absolute rule of Kim Jong-il, general secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) and chairman of the National Defense Commission, the “highest office of state.” The country has an estimated population of 22.7 million. Kim’s father, the late Kim Il-sung, remains “eternal president.” Elections held in August 2003 were not free or fair. There was no civilian control of the security forces, and members of the security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses.

The government’s human rights record remained poor, and the regime continued to commit numerous serious abuses. The regime subjected citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There continued to be reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of political prisoners. Prison conditions were harsh and life-threatening, and torture reportedly was common. Pregnant female prisoners reportedly underwent forced abortions, and in other cases babies reportedly were killed upon birth in prisons. The judiciary was not independent and did not provide fair trials. Citizens were denied freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and association, and the government attempted to control all information. The government restricted freedom of religion, citizens’ movement, and worker rights. There continued to be reports of severe punishment of some repatriated refugees. There were widespread reports of trafficking in women and girls among refugees and workers crossing the border into China. [link to full 2006 report]

Here’s the introduction to the 2005 report:

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is a dictatorship under the absolute rule of Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP). It has an estimated population of 22.7 million. In 1998, the Supreme People’s Assembly reconfirmed Kim as chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC) and designated that position the “highest office of state.” Kim’s father, the late Kim Il Sung, was declared “eternal president.” The titular head of state is Kim Yong Nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA). Elections for the 687-member assembly, held every five years, were last held in August 2003. Only the KWP and two small satellite parties participated, and the elections were not free. There was no civilian control of the security forces, and members of the security forces have committed numerous serious human rights abuses.

The government’s human rights record remained extremely poor, and the regime continued to commit numerous serious abuses. The regime subjected citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives. The following human rights abuses have been documented or alleged over the years:

– abridgement of the right to change the government
– extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including many political prisoners
– harsh and life-threatening prison conditions
– torture
– forced abortions and infanticide in prisons
– lack of an independent judiciary and fair trials
– denial of freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association
– government attempts to control all information
– denial of freedom of religion, freedom of movement, and worker rights
– severe punishment of some repatriated refugees [link to full report]

You have to go all the way back to 2004 to see the airbrushing begin in earnest:

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is a dictatorship under the absolute rule of Kim Jong Il, General Secretary of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP). In 1998, the Supreme People’s Assembly reconfirmed Kim as Chairman of the National Defense Commission and designated that position the “highest office of state.” Kim’s father, the late Kim Il Sung, was declared “eternal president.” The titular head of state is Kim Yong Nam, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly. Elections for the 687-member Assembly were held in August 2003. Only the KWP and two small satellite parties participated. The elections were not free. The Kim family remained the object of an intense personality cult, and the regime continued to cling to “juche,” an ideology of extreme self-reliance, even though the population was dependent on international aid for survival. The judiciary is not independent.

The country is one of the world’s most militarized societies. The Korean People’s Army (KPA) continued to overshadow the KWP as Kim Jong Il’s chief instrument for making and implementing policy. The KPA is the primary organization responsible for external security. A large military reserve force and several quasi-military organizations, including the Worker-Peasant Red Guards and the People’s Security Force, assist it. In addition, an omnipresent internal security apparatus includes the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the State Security Department, and the KWP. Members of the security forces have committed numerous serious human rights abuses.

The country’s traditional highly centralized and tightly controlled economy has broken down under the stress of chronic shortages of food and fuel. Citizens increasingly have sought employment in the informal economy. Most citizens must supplement limited amounts of government-subsidized rations with food purchased in markets. Heavy military spending, estimated at between one-quarter and one-third of gross domestic product, has constrained and skewed economic development. The country has not taken the steps towards transparency that would make it eligible for membership in international financial institutions. Its poor credit rating, stemming from default on its foreign debt, sharply limited the amount of funds it was able to borrow commercially. Despite significant inflows of international assistance over the past decade, harsh economic and political conditions have caused tens of thousands of persons to flee the country. To stabilize the economy, in July 2002, the Government launched an economic reform that raised wages and prices, devalued the currency, and gave managers more decision-making authority. These changes sparked a dramatic rise in inflation and a quickening of commercial activity but failed to re-energize industrial growth. The Government permitted an increase in the number of private vendors to compensate for the contraction of food supplied through the public distribution system. Corruption appears to be a growing problem as economic controls loosen.

The Government’s human rights record remained extremely poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There continued to be reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and arbitrary detention, including of many persons held as political prisoners. Prison conditions were harsh and life-threatening, and torture reportedly was common. Pregnant female prisoners reportedly underwent forced abortions, and in other cases babies reportedly were killed upon birth in prisons. The constitutional provisions for an independent judiciary and fair trials were not implemented in practice. The regime subjected citizens to rigid controls over many aspects of their lives. In April, the Supreme People’s Assembly enacted a new Penal Code. According to the new Penal Code, capital punishment applied only to “serious” or “grave” cases of four “anti-state” and “anti-nation” crimes. Citizens were denied freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and association; all forms of cultural and media activities were under the tight control of the KWP. Little outside information reached the general population except that which was approved and disseminated by the Government. The Government restricted freedom of religion, citizens’ movement, and worker rights. In April, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) called for the appointment of Special Rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn to examine the human rights conditions in the country, but he was not allowed to visit the country to carry out his mandate. Although the country accepted meetings with European Union (EU) and U.N. officials on human rights issues, the Government maintained that most international human rights norms, particularly individual rights, were illegitimate, alien, and subversive to the goals of the State and Party. There were widespread reports of trafficking in women and girls among refugees and workers crossing the border into China. Only government-controlled labor unions are permitted. [link to full report]