Ten things we learned from Michael Kirby's North Korea Reddit AMA

The North Korea network invited the former chair of the UN COI on human rights violations in the DPRK to take part in an Ask Me Anything session with Reddit users. During the web chat on Reddit, they asked Michael Kirby what shocked him the most about the abuses recorded in the report. They also asked, “What should happen next?” and “How can the world help?”

These are the ten lessons that they learned from the web chat with Michael Kirby.

1. The report exposed horrific human rights abuses.

Kirby said that the whole process of the testimonies for the COI was very similar to testimonies of the Holocaust. And he added that the "witnesses told their stories in a low key way, without exaggeration". Kirby was shocked by many aspects of the lives of ordinary North Koreans, and he stressed in particular the regime's denial that political prison camps exist.

2. The time to act on human rights abuses in North Korea is now.

In response to a multi-layered question, Kirby said: "It is now up to the nation states to consider what should be done... I believe, and am hopeful, that wise leadership on the part of the permanent members of the Security Council will produce an effective response to the shocking revelations in the report of the COI [Commission of Inquiry]."

When Flopublic asked what actions the UN plans to take concerning the "grave" human rights abuses, Kirby said the UN has yet to make a final decision regarding the report, but "Of the 15 members of the Security Council who attended (PR China and Russian Federation absent), 13 were there; 11 made speeches; 10 of the 11 came out in support of referral of the case of North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC)."

3. Kim Jong-un will not appear at The Hague anytime soon.

Although Kirby said there is no possibility of Kim Jong-un appearing at the Hague voluntarily, investigators believe that there are reasonable grounds for starting a prosecution process on human rights violations.

4. The Pyongyang regime is scared of the truth.

5. There's a chance some North Koreans inside the country might get to read the findings of the UN report.

6. There is good reason for us to care about what happens inside North Korea.

In reply to another question, Kirby said he believes it is "our obligation" to "get involved in politics where it involves     the universal human rights of people on the planet."

7. People outside of North Korea can do something to help: "they are our brothers and sisters".

8. The debate on tourism in North Korea continues.

When one of the users asked whether it was immoral to go to North Korea on holiday, Kirby said that, although he didn't think so, it does not really help the human rights situation.

9. There is a glimmer of hope.

When one of the users asked if he could ever imagine a more positive situation in North Korea, Kirby said that he was hopeful.

10. Redditors have respect for Michael Kirby as a human rights ambassador, a judge, and an all-round nice guy.

SOURCE: The guardian