US diplomat calls for world not to stay silent on N. Korean human rights

A senior US diplomat made an emphatic call Friday for the international community not to remain silent about human rights abuses in North Korea, as "Beyond Utopia," an Oscar short-listed film on North Korean defectors, was screened at the State Department in Washington.

Uzra Zeya, the under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, made the call at the film screening event intended to shine a light on the treacherous journeys North Korean defectors make in desperate search for freedom outside the reclusive North.

Directed by Madeleine Gavin, the documentary features the heart-wrenching story of two North Korean defector families who escaped the North before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We in the United States cannot sit by and do nothing. We must act to improve the lives of North Koreans because they deserve better," Zeya said at the event attended by diplomats, students, activists and North Korean defectors.

She added, "The international community must not stay silent about these abuses. We will continue to raise awareness of these issues and press for accountability for those responsible."

The official noted that this year marks 10 years since the landmark U.N. Commission of Inquiry report laid bare human rights violations by the North Korean regime.

"(The report) found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed and are ongoing," she said. "In the intervening decade, the human rights situation in the DPRK has only gotten worse."

DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Zeya also emphasized the need for unceasing efforts to urge Pyongyang to honor human rights of its people.

"We in the United States continue to call upon (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un and the DPRK regime to respect the human rights of North Koreans to allow North Koreans freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association and freedom of religion and belief," she said.

The under secretary also touched on the North's release in December of its own rights white paper that accused the West of violating human rights while dismissing criticism of its own dire conditions.

"We call upon the DPRK to come to the negotiation table where we are prepared to open a conversation about human rights and fundamental freedoms ... We're ready to talk about our own human rights record," she said.

Ambassador Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights, led the screening event. She expressed hope that the film would galvanize more support for North Korean refugees from the general public.

"This film does an amazing job of capturing the difficult journey that North Korean refugees have to take in order to benefit from the same freedom that you and I have every day," she said. "We'll hopefully inject some new energy around the conversation focused on North Korean human rights."

Joining the event virtually, Lee Shin-wha, South Korea's ambassador-at-large for international cooperation on North Korean human rights, expressed concern that North Korean human rights issues could be eclipsed by other ongoing global issues.

"In the context of the world's attention being drawn to crises such as those in Ukraine and Gaza, it is crucial to ensure that the issue of North Korean human rights does not turn into a forgotten crisis or what I call overburdened neglect," she said.

'Beyond Utopia" has been shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 Oscars. It also won the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival last year.

In an effort to raise public awareness, South Korea's foreign ministry also held an event screening the film with the attendance of over 100 ministry personnel in October.