North Korea suffering 'critical food shortage'

North Korea suffering 'critical food shortage': UN envoy
Posted 24 October 2006 0754 hrs (Channelnewsasia)

UNITED NATIONS : A UN envoy warned of sharply reduced food aid shipments to North Korea as a result of its missile and nuclear tests even though the Stalinist state still faces a "critical shortage".

Vitit Muntarbhorn, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, also urged Pyongyang to abide by its human rights obligations and to specifically stop punishing North Korean refugees repatriated by neighboring asylum countries.

"There is a critical food shortage also compounded by disastrous floods in July and August," he told a news conference here, adding that the crisis was further complicated by the North Korean missile and nuclear tests which triggered sanctions by the UN Security Council.

He described Pyongyang's missile tests last July and its first nuclear test on October 9 as "a serious waste" of resources. "The resources spent on arms would have been better spent satisfying the food security" of North Koreans, Muntarbhorn, a Thai law professor, added.

He appealed to bilateral food donors to resume their aid on the basis of "no access, no food", meaning that the aid would be conditional on guaranteed access to North Korean target groups such as women and children, and full accountability.

He recalled that the UN World Food Program (WFP), the lead UN agency providing food aid to starving North Koreans, had its wings clipped last year when Pyongyang ordered it to change its emergency relief program to a development scheme. Last month, WFP said it had received just eight percent of the 102 million dollars it needs to provide 150,000 tonnes of food over the next two years. Around one million North Koreans died in the 1990s because of food shortages, experts believe. The New York-based organization Human Rights Watch has warned that another food crisis is looming after the flooding damaged harvests.

Muntarbhorn also described the human rights situation in North Korea as "grim", particularly for special groups such as the disabled, women, children and the elderly. "I found very distressing that these groups are impacted upon negatively," he noted. In a report released last Friday, he accused North Korean authorities of practicing "merciless discrimination against handicapped persons by setting up collective camps for them where they are designated according to their physical deformity or disability."

The report also charged that women in North Korea were being subjected to violence as well as "human trafficking and sexual exploitation." The envoy also focused on the root causes pushing North Koreans to flee abroad, citing political repression and widespread hunger. He said many dissidents, economic refugees and hungry North Koreans were leaving the country without exit visas and were being subjected to punishment if they were repatriated by neighboring countries. "No punishment upon return would help solve problem," Muntarbhorn said. He also urged North Korea to fully abide by human rights treaties to which it is a party, to liberalize its laws, policies and practices to ensure respect for a broad range of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. He also raised the issue of foreigners, mostly Japanese but also South Koreans and Thais, who have been kidnapped by North Korean agents. - AFP


Having read this, I wonder what UN sanctions can work for North Korea. The poor people are suffering and starving. Will the UN sanctions or any sanctions increase the sufferings of the people? Are the appropriate people being justly punished? I understand the fact that the world is never fair but this is too much.

On the topic of poor and disadvantage people, I don’t see the fuss that people are making over Madonna’s adoption of the Malawi kid. If her intentions were to really save the poor kid from poverty, let it be then. Someday, I would like to adopt a child to save him or her from poverty too. God has given me so much and I want to share it with a child that’s disadvantaged. But people do not have the same view as me. Why bother to procreate when there are kids in the world who are crying out for a family? Why can’t I do my bit for the society or the world by just adopting a child? Hopefully in 2 or 3 years’ time, I can realize my dream of adopting a kid. I really want to do it. And I found out that in HK it only takes 14 months for the application to go through. In HK, abortion is illegal and therefore there are kids that are put up for adoption all the time. And these kids need a family and love and I can provide them that...Hopefully, but that calls for sacrifices....But that's another post.....

Need to go shopping today with WK's parents. Going to get some dried seafood. Might get some for mum too. Thinking of dried seafood....makes me miss grandma...maybe it's time to see her again.

Hong Kong