PRESS RELEASE

Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) registers its serious reservations about the official visit to the country by Kim Yong-nam who is one of North Korea’s dictators. According to among others NSHR sources at Namibia’s State House, Kim Yong-nam is scheduled to be received by the Namibian Head of State, President Lucas Hifikepunye Hohamba, at a lavish official banquet in the dictator’s honor on March 20 2008.

Kim Yong-nam is the Speaker of the mono-cameral Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, as Parliament is called in that country.

NSHR’s reservations about Kim Yong-nam’s official visit should be seen to be in line with the human rights organization’s opposition to the systematic and gross human rights violations occurring in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

In a Press Release issued by Amnesty international (AI) on March 6 2008, DPRK publicly executed 13 women and 2 men “to send a warning to people” for illegally crossing the border into China. As Namibia’s Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government and Housing, Hon Kazenambo Kazenambo, correctly stated on a local NBC’s “Talk of the Nation” program last Monday, AI is a credible international human rights organization.

Other egregious violations of human rights occurring in the DPRK include the abridgement of the right to change the government, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention. These violations also include many political prisoners, torture, forced abortions and infanticide in prisons as well as lack of an independent judiciary and fair trials, systematic denial of freedom of expression and opinion as well as the freedoms of assembly, association and the denial of freedom of religion, freedom of movement and workers’ rights.

Due to chronic food shortages, many North Koreans have little choice but to risk the dangerous journey to the People’s Republic of China in order to access food and other essential supplies.

Like AI and other international human rights organizations, NSHR calls upon the DPRK government to desist from its systematic policy of summary executions, prolonged detention without trial and enforced disappearance as well as torture of its citizens.


In case of additional comment, please call Dorkas Phillemon or Phil ya Nangoloh at Tel: 061 236 183 or 061 253 447 (office hours) or Cell: +264 811 299 641 (Dorkas) or Cell: +264 811 299 886 (Phil) or E-mail: nshr@nshr.org.na or visit: National Society for Human Rights :: Tolerance - Liberty - Happiness