Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se delivered a keynote speech during the 25th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in which he urged the world to solve the issue of the comfort women victims on March 5 in Geneva, Switzerland. Minister Yun appealed for urgency in resolving the issue of the comfort women victims, as it is, “an issue of universal human rights and an unresolved issue that still haunts us today.”

“The victims of wartime sexual slavery drafted by the Japanese imperial armed forces—the so-called ’comfort women’ —are the evidence in point,” said Minister Yun. He pointed out that some Japanese political leaders are attempting to reexamine the Kono Statement, in which the Japanese government admitted its involvement, admitted to coercion by the Imperial Japanese Army and expressed its sincere apologies and remorse. The political leaders’ actions are despite the consistent advice and resolutions adopted by U.N. human rights bodies and by many countries over the past 20 years. “During the past century, we have witnessed gross human rights violations in many wars and conflicts, including the two world wars. The starting point in the prevention of human rights violations is for countries to admit their past wrong-doings, take responsibility for such deeds and educate future generations with an honest version of history,” said Yun.



Minister Yun emphasized the Korean government’s commitment to realize its diplomatic policy goal of attaining, “the happiness of the global village.”

“We are committed to help shape a world where human dignity and human rights are respected and quality of life is improved for all the people of the world,” said the minister.

Yun said that Korea holds in high regard the U.N.’s efforts to mainstream human rights, a goal which constitutes one of the three pillars of the U.N., alongside peace and security, and development. He also expressed support for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s “Right up Front” initiative, by saying that it will strengthen the U.N.’s capacity to promote and protect human rights.

In regard to human rights issues amongst the international community, Minister Yun mentioned the human rights situation in Syria. Mentioning the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea (DPRK), he emphasized the need to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK. Yun also stressed the importance of the international community’s efforts to respond to sexual violence during armed conflicts, stressing the need to solve the issues surrounding the comfort women victims.

Minister Yun praised the submission of the Commission of Inquiry’s report on North Korea’s human rights situation. The minister expressed his hopes that Pyongyang would take substantive measures to improve the human rights condition of its citizens. Yun also emphasized the need to begin discussions on steps to effectively follow up the commission’s recommendations to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK. As COI follow-up measures, he said that Seoul strongly supports the strengthening of U.N. mechanisms to implement the commission’s recommendations and looks forward to taking a leading role as a special rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea. The minister called on all countries to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and to grant rightful protection to North Korean refugees and asylum seekers.

“In addition to the need to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK, we are faced with other challenges to address—with great urgency—the humanitarian concerns arising from the continued division of the Korean Peninsula. In this respect, we commend the commission’s report for dealing with the serious humanitarian tragedies in the Korean Peninsula, such as separated families, abductees and prisoners of war,” said the minister.

Minister Yun said that Korea will play an important role in the U.N.’s noble efforts to promote and protect the human rights of all, as the country itself experienced the pillage of colonization, the devastation of war and the scars of poverty and repression.

By Wi Tack-whan, Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr