INTERVIEW-World must protect N. Koreans, U.N. envoy says
* U.N. rights investigator says violations are egregious
* Says may be a case for prosecuting crimes against humanity
* Decries public executions, pervasive spying, food shortage
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, March 12 (Reuters) - The United Nations must act to protect North Koreans from military rulers who are committing "harrowing and horrific" human rights violations, a U.N. investigator said on Friday.
Vitit Muntarbhorn, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), also said that there may be a case for prosecuting some North Korean officials for alleged crimes against humanity.
"The U.N. should be a guardian to protect people against violations by their own state, especially if violations are as egregious as they are in North Korea," Muntarbhorn told Reuters in an interview in Geneva.
"There is a case for using the totality of the U.N. system," he said, noting that the Security Council can take measures against a rogue state while the International Criminal Court can prosecute individuals.
North Korea is already under pressure to return to six-party disarmament-for-aid nuclear talks because of U.N. sanctions imposed after a May 2009 nuclear test and prodding by its major ally China.
The Thai jurist, who has held the independent post since 2004, presents his final report on Monday to the U.N. Human Rights Council.
"The international crime which would seem to be most closely related to the happenings in the country in question is 'crimes against humanity' and the criteria which would need to be fulfilled include widespread or systematic attack against civilians and knowledge of the attack," he said in the report.
ICC PROSECUTOR
South Korean non-governmental organisations have already submitted cases against North Korea to the ICC prosecutor in the Hague, he said in the interview.
Muntarbhorn has never been allowed to visit the reclusive communist country and Pyongyang rejects his mandate. His reports are based on information from sources including human rights groups and interviews with North Korean refugees in Mongolia.
In the report, he called on Pyongyang to halt public executions, dismantle its pervasive spying system and end its distorted food distribution favouring the elite.
"Simply put, there are many instances of human rights violations which are both harrowing and horrific," he wrote.
The state is "seeking to prop up a regime which is out of sync with the general population and which tries to perpetuate its survival at the cost of the people," he said.
The totalitarian nature of the ruling elite has created a pervasive 'state of fear' where no dissent is tolerated, according to the investigator.
Reading books from South Korea is regarded as espionage and there are sanctions against reading books from China. "It is forbidden to own computers without permission," he wrote.
"There are special squads which raid homes to see whether there are illegal materials form other countries and neighbours/communities are encouraged to inform on each other. Bribery may attenuate arrests and sanctions," he said.
Muntarbhorn told Reuters: "This is one very particular country, it is a remnant of the Cold War in extremis and you see all the consequences." (For report, go to link.reuters.com/rec83j )
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