“The Government of Canada is proud to join with the Council for Human Rights in North Korea to commemorate today as the inaugural day of recognition for human rights in North Korea.
“This year marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice. This past March, North Korea unilaterally declared that it was ‘nullifying’ the armistice, resulting in heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula and causing concern among members of the more than 160,000-strong Korean-Canadian community.
“Since the time of the Korean War more than 60 years ago, North Korea has presented serious challenges to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and the people of North Korea have suffered and continue to suffer under the cruel and totalitarian regime of the Kim dynasty.
“The Government of Canada is committed to actively advancing the cause of democracy and human rights in North Korea. Canada has regularly raised issues of human rights and human security with North Korean officials, urging North Korea to abide by international human rights standards and to allow visits by UN Special Rapporteurs.
“On this day, I am proud to speak on behalf of the Government of Canada in calling on North Korea to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens and end its bellicose rhetoric and aggressive behaviour towards its neighbours. Our Government will continue to speak out against the tyranny in North Korea until the voiceless and oppressed people of that country can live their lives in freedom.
“As Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird recently said, ‘Canada unreservedly condemns the ongoing violations of human rights in North Korea. The existence of gulags, arbitrary detentions, forced abortions, intergenerational punishment, indefinite holding of political prisoners, mistreatment of workers and lack of overall freedom, including religious freedom, is absolutely deplorable.’
“As Minister for Multiculturalism, I echo the words of my colleague, and I hope that North Korea will stop trying to distract from its abject failure and improve the lives of its impoverished people, who continue to suffer terribly under its repressive communist regime.”
