U.N. Special Rapporteur Soldiers On

He was seconded by a fallen government, gets no respect from the U.S. government, and works for the world’s most overrated entity, but Vitit Muntarbhorn, the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea is making (in U.N. terms, at least) a creditable effort to do his job:

An independent U.N. investigator on North Korea’s human rights situation Tuesday described the food shortage and rights violations in the country as ”very grim” and called on Japan to strengthen support systems for those who have fled the country.

U.N. special rapporteur Vitit Muntarbhorn also urged Pyongyang to ”take action efficaciously” to address its past abductions of Japanese and other foreign nationals, stressing that the international community ”remains highly unsatisfied” with its response so far. [Kyodo News]

Muntarbhorn is visting Japan this week. The Japanese seem to have had some success at cultivating him to leverage world opinion toward the return of their abducted citizens. And while I tend to believe that “world opinion” is also overrated, I’m glad to see the Japanese continue to buck the trend of excusing North Korea from every known law, principle, or standard of civilized conduct.