Minister slams North Korea over human rights record
Reclusive communist state North Korea has the worst human rights record of any country in the world, according to Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell.
His comments were made in light of recent video footage of public executions by firing squad.
Experts said the footage appeared to show assumed deserters from government-run Gulag detention camps executed by firing squad in front of a large number of prisoners.
The North Korean Embassy in London insisted Pyongyang did not support the death penalty.
Mr Rammell told the BBC yesterday: “We have very credible reports of whole families being gassed in a macabre experimentation which was undertaken by the North Koreans.
“There were whole generations of families locked up. Infanticide takes place. There is a disturbing regularity and persistence of these reports that do justify the description that this probably has the worst human rights record of any country anywhere in the world.”
Britain is considering asking the United Nations to pursue “tough” sanctions against North Korea if it continues to ignore international concerns about alleged human rights violations and its nuclear weapons programme.
Mr Rammell made an historic trip to North Korea last year in a bid to start diplomatic talks aimed at bringing the impoverished nation out of “isolation and containment”.
His remarks came after Amnesty International said yesterday that nearly 3800 people were executed in 25 countries last year.
The human rights campaign group said the figure was only the tip of the iceberg as the true toll was certainly higher.
In 2004, Amnesty International said 97 per cent of all known executions took place in just four countries – China, Iran, Vietnam and the US.
It estimated at least 3400 people were executed in China alone, with the real figure again believed to be much higher.
Kate Allen, Amnesty’s UK director, described China’s record as “genuinely frightening”.
Amnesty said “axis of evil” state Iran executed at least 159 people, and Vietnam at least 64.
A total of 59 people were executed in America.
Amnesty said the figure for executions was the highest since 1996 and the second largest in the last 25 years.
The report for Amnesty said 120 countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
