8
The most general research pattern adopted in these reports sets the scope of
international human rights treaties ratified by North Korea as the standard, and
classifies and analyzes infringements of human rights accordingly. North Korea joined
the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1981; in 1990 it ratified
the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Hence, the Korea Institute for National Unification (1996-2009)2, the University of
North Korean Studies (2008)3, the Institute for North Korean Studies at Dongguk
University (2004)4, etc. carried out fact-finding studies and research by following a
scheme of classification differentiating between, for example, civil (civil and political
rights) and social rights (economic, social, and cultural rights), and by categorizing
instances of human rights violations accordingly.
Human rights abuses encountered by North Korean refugees in the course of their
flight from North Korea and after entering South Korea have been studied, inter alia,
by the Research Institute of Peace Studies (2005)5 and the Institute for North Korean
Studies at Dongguk University (2004). The former inquired, in consecutive order, into
human rights issues arising at the Governmental Joint Investigation Organization
where these refugees undergo investigations upon entry to South Korea, human rights
problems occurring at Hanawon where they receive adaptation education to facilitate
their resettlement in South Korea, and human rights issues that come about when
North Korean refugees actually take up a new life in their new place of residence. The
2
Korea Institute for National Unification. 2009. White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea. Seoul:
Korea Institute for National Unification. In December 1994, the Korea Institute for National Unification
established the Center for North Korean Human Rights Studies to professionalize and systematize
material on human rights in North Korea. Since 1996 it has annually published the “White Paper on
Human Rights in North Korea”.
3
University of North Korean Studies. 2008. The Human Rights Situation of North Korean People. Seoul:
National Human Rights Commission of Korea.
4
Institute for North Korean Studies at Dongguk University. 2004. Study on the Human Rights Situation in
North Korea based on North Korean Refugees’ Testimonies. Seoul: National Human Rights Commission
of Korea.
5
Research Institute of Peace Studies. 2005. Research on the Advancement of the Human Rights Situation
of North Korean Refugees in South Korea. Seoul: National Human Rights Commission of Korea.