Human rights violations in North Korea, rapprochement and effective détente: The Salzgitter lessons

Bernhard J. Seliger, Bok Gyo Jeong

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2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human rights has emerged as a major bone of contention in South Korea's policy vis-à-vis the North in recent years. The ideological history of the South Korean democracy movement as well as the desire for a successful détente policy led to ominous silence with regards to North Korean human rights violations. Before Germany's unification, a similar tension existed between human rights policy and rapprochement policy. However, the Central Registry of State Judicial Administrations in West Germany (Salzgitter registry) played a major role in shedding light on human rights violations in East Germany by bringing violators to justice, and, ultimately and most importantly, deterring human rights violations. This paper discusses the approaches of various South Korean non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with respect to Germany's Salzgitter registry experience.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)85-119
Number of pages35
JournalKorea Observer
Volume39
Issue number1
StatePublished - Mar 2008

Keywords

  • Germany
  • Human rights
  • NGOs
  • North Korea
  • Salzgitter registry

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