Marzuki Darusman, the U. N special investigator on the human rights situation in North Korea, says it is time to move away from the old method of submitting reports and passing resolutions of condemnation against North Korea at the U.N. human Rights Council. He also said that imaginative new approaches are needed to turn around the country's record of human rights violations against its people.

In a report, Darusman shares his initial thoughts about the direction he intends to take in fulling his mandate, building on the findings and recommendations of the commission of  inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He stress the international law implications of the commission's findings and the responsibility of the international community to protect. 

He also highlights the responses by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, including some opportunities for engagement presented by the Government's latest position on the recommendations made a the universal periodic review. He says North Korea must be made accountable for its crimes against humanity, as the Security Council is the only body that can refer perpetrators to the International Criminal Court.

In addition, he highlights the role and influence of countries like China to persuade and put greater pressure on the government to end its violations.

The field office, which is likely to open in the next couple of months, will not only act as a permanent watchdog but also work closely with a so-called contact group, composed of representatives of ten countries.

Darusman says the group will be a bridge between the Council's two-yearly sessions to keep North Korea's atrocious human rights record on the international front burner. 

SOURCE: VOA