[0:00]Hi, my name is Charles, and I escaped North Korea twice. North Korea is famous for a lot of things. Most of them are bad. One of the things that they are famous for are violating human rights. They definitely violated mine. Today, I'm going to do a deep dive on how the United Nation defines human rights and the way that North Korea violates them. Both in my life growing up, and in the lives of 26 million other North Koreans living there. Before I jump in, make sure to like and subscribe. Here we go. Human rights can broadly be divided into two categories. The first is civil and political rights, like the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, and freedom of speech, and economic, social, and cultural rights, like the right to work, right to education, and right to housing. The United Nations General Assembly adopted both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the ICCPR, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the ICESCR, in 1976. North Korea became party to both these covenants in 1981. Now, historically, capitalist countries emphasizes the civil and political rights, while socialist countries emphasizes the economic, social, and cultural rights. So, you would think that North Korea, as a supposedly socialist country, values economic, social, and cultural rights. But when we look at the ICESCR, we can see that there are many economic, social, and cultural rights that North Korea does not uphold, which I can prove with my own experience. So, in this video, I am going to go through the ICESCR to point out specifically which of these human rights North Korea violates. All right, let's get to it. Article 1 of the ICESCR states that all people have the right to self-determination, can decide their own political status, and pursue their own economic development. Meaning that you can vote for whoever you want and make money how you want. North Korea violates this right with their Songbun system. The Songbun system is similar to a class system. It has upper, middle, and lower class, but they call them core, wavering, and hostile. However, your Songbun is determined by how loyal to the regime your ancestors were, and there is practically nothing you can do to change your Songbun. If your ancestors were war heroes and faithful followers of the regime, you are part of the core upper class. The majority of people are in the wavering class, whose family were farmers, laborers, and merchants. And the lowest class, the hostile, are descendants of capitalist, people who owned lots of land, and people who worked with Japan. North Korea signed the International Covenant saying all people have the right to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. But in North Korea, how much food you get, what job you have, your education, your military service, even your marriage is determined by where you fall in the Songbun system. Furthermore, Article 1 states that in no case may people be deprived of their own means of subsistence. The Songbun system also violates this right because during the famine of 1990s, access to food aid was determined by Songbun, depriving lower Songbuns of access to necessary resources. Also, when Kim Jong-un tightened the border after he came to power, many people who depended on smuggling and trade in China lost their livelihood, depriving them of their ability to make a living. Another way North Korea fails at providing human rights can be found in Article 6, which states that everyone has the right to gain their living by work that they freely choose or accept. In North Korea, people's line of work is chosen for them, and many people are forced into certain jobs, like the Ki'ppumjo, which is the pleasure squad. Also Article 6 states that all people should get fair wages and equal pay for work without distinctions, especially by gender. It is hard to get data on gender pay gap in North Korea due to its closed nature. Funny enough, after the famine in the 1990s, women When people think about North Korea, they usually think of nuclear warheads, authoritarianism, and a heartless dictator. I'm making contents because I want everybody to think of North Korean people. They are ordinary people who don't know how much better life could be. If you want to help me be a voice for voiceless North Koreans, I will offer for you to support me on Patreon, where you can get early access to full-length videos, all sorts of fun pictures, outtakes, and other exclusive videos. Thank you, and I hope to see you there. Funny enough, after the famine in the 1990s, women actually are earning more than men because women take the lead in the black market. But in state-run official workplaces, it is speculated that there is a gender pay gap because cultural and gender role makes it harder for women to get higher-paying jobs. Also Article 6 states that everyone has the right to make a decent living for themselves and their families. This definitely does not exist in North Korea. Because official state-run jobs barely afford people the food and the ration they need to keep themselves alive. That is why the black market was created, because state-run jobs didn't pay enough for people to survive. Lastly, Article 6 states that everyone has the right to safe and healthy working conditions. Speaking from experience, I can say that this right is definitely violated in North Korea. When I was just 16 years old, I worked in a coal mine where people were often injured or lost limbs, and weren't even able to get proper compensation for it. Next, Article 8 states that everyone has the right to form trade unions and join unions of their choice, and that unions have the right to strike. Although there are technically unions in North Korea, like Joseon Jigup Chongdongmaeng, they are not unions like we would think of in the States, which functions to protect workers' rights. Instead, their purpose is to mobilize workers for production campaigns, and there are definitely no strikes. The thought of going on a strike or complaining to the government about trainmen in North Korea is unthinkable. Next, Article 10 states that children and young person should be protected from exploitation, and that employment in work harmful to their development should be punishable by law. Again, my personal experience proves that this right is not upheld. When I was just 15 years old, after being captured in China and sent back to North Korea, I was forced to go to a labor camp where I did intense manual labor up to 12 hours a day and got so malnourished I almost died. After being released from the labor camp at 16 and went to work in a coal mine where kids like me were in danger of getting seriously injured or losing their limbs. I had to carry sacks of super heavy coal on my back weighing anywhere between 40 and 75 kg, which is anywhere between 88 lb and 165 lb for my American audience. Which I still think is the reason that I didn't get very tall and why I have knee pain. Next, Article 11 states that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing, and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.
[8:26]Article 11 also says that countries party to the Covenant must recognize the right of everyone to be free from hunger, and take the necessary measures to ensure that all their people are fed, even through international cooperation. Again, during the famine, the North Korean regime clearly violated this right. When the famine started in the mid-1990s, North Korea initially downplayed its seriousness, calling it only a food shortage. It only asked for international help when the famine became extreme. Furthermore, aid was not distributed fairly, with most of it going to the elites and military, and not to the common people. Lastly, Article 13 of the ICESCR states that everyone has the right to education, specifically education that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms. In North Korea, I was never taught anything about human rights or even the word for human rights, and we're definitely not taught about the freedoms laid out in the international covenants that North Korea is party to. Article 13 also says that higher education should be made accessible to all, but in North Korea, very few people have a chance to go to college. While there is almost 100% enrollment in primary education, only about 27% of North Koreans go to college. Again, the chance to go to college is largely determined by Songbun. I recommend reading the 2014 Commission of Inquiries on Human Rights in the DPRK, if you want to know more about the way North Korea has been called out on their human rights violations by the international community, which is available online. Let me know what you think in the comments and don't forget to like and subscribe.
