The campaign for North Koreans’ human rights is receiving fresh impetus as South Korea, the U.S. and the international community are ratcheting up pressure on the repressive regime to address grave living conditions and cease punishment of repatriated defectors. On Monday, the U.N.’s human rights chief Navi Pillay urged North Korea’s neighbors to comply with the principle of non-refoulement, which forbids turning over “victims of persecution.”

 

“The situation in the DPRK remains of serious concern, particularly the issue of political prison camps, public executions and the persisting food shortage,” she said in her opening remarks.