联合国称朝鲜领导人犯反人类罪

AS IT IS 2016-06-29 UN Builds Legal Case Against North Korean Leadership 联合国称朝鲜领导人犯反人类罪

The United Nations is continuing to build legal cases against North Korea’s leadership for crimes against humanity.

UN officials are gathering¹ statements and other evidence from more than 30,000 North Korean defectors to support the cases.

Human rights activists² and UN representatives met in Seoul on Monday to discuss the latest developments in the investigation³.

Signe Poulsen represents the Office of the High Commissioner⁴ for Human Rights in Seoul. She said the investigation is continuing, but it takes time and is hard to prepare a case based on information from defectors alone.

“Verification is extremely difficult and it is an ongoing⁵ challenge, and I think something we have to be quite humble⁶ about because we don’t have access at the ground level.”

The investigators⁷ are trying to collect evidence linking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other high-level officials to crimes against humanity.

In 2014, a UN Commission of Inquiry⁸ called on the UN to refer North Korea’s leadership to the International Criminal Court.

The inquiry report documented at least 120,000 political prisoners inside the country. It also linked North Korean officials to atrocities⁹ including “extermination¹⁰, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment¹¹, rape¹², forced abortions¹³ and other sexual violence.”

The UN General Assembly voted in support of the Commission of Inquiry’s call for action. But the measure was never passed in the Security Council, where North Korea’s allies China and Russia would likely veto it.

The Security Council ordered new sanctions on North Korea earlier this year for carrying out a nuclear test and launching a long-range rocket. Those measures are not directly linked to the international concerns about the country’s human rights record.

Marzuki Darusman is the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea. He said UN officials and human rights groups continue to build legal cases against North Korean officials. But he said those cases may never be brought unless the government of Kim Jong Un collapses¹⁴ someday.

“That is quite unique in that sense, compared to the general practice where justice seeking is then implemented¹⁵ after the big bang, so called,” he said.

UN investigators believe Kim should ultimately be held responsible for the atrocities committed in North Korea. They say they have found orders and handwritten notes directly connecting him to some crimes.

Greg Scarlatoiu with Human Rights North Korea said low-level officials in state security agencies also should be held responsible.

“We know those agencies, we know the hierarchy¹⁶ within those agencies and we even have many lists of names of officials who are still there, who have been holding positions at these agencies.”

But North Korea expert Remko Breuker, from Leiden University in the Netherlands, disagrees.

“Where does accountability stop? When do people have no other choice than to obey? This is ideally something I think that should be left to North Koreans to decide.”

UN officials and activists working to build a case against the North Korean leadership know that no legal action is likely to happen anytime soon. But they remain hopeful that one day the political environment will change to make prosecutions¹⁷ possible.

Words in This Story

defector – n. person who abandons their country for another one

verification – n. the process of establishing whether something is true or not

humble – adj. not proud; not thinking of yourself as better than others

atrocity¹⁹ – n. a very cruel or terrible act

extermination – n. to completely destroy or kill

hierarchy – n. a system that places people or things in difference levels and importance

prosecution¹⁸ – n. the act of holding a trial against a person accused of a crime to establish guilt or innocence

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 extermination   

n.消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• All door and window is sealed for the extermination of mosquito. 为了消灭蚊子，所有的门窗都被封闭起来了。 来自辞典例句
• In doing so they were saved from extermination. 这样一来却使它们免于绝灭。 来自辞典例句

11 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

12 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

13 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

14 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

15 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

16 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

17 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

18 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

19 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。