PRESS CONFERENCE

Time to Pressure North Korea on Human Rights
James Heenan, Representative of UN Human Rights Office in Seoul

11:00-12:00 Friday, April 14, 2023
(The speech and Q & A will be in English.)

James Heenan, the new head of the UN's Human Rights Office in Seoul, wasted little time setting out his stall. Soon after he took the post last October, he told South Korean news agency Yonhap that North Korea should focus less on missile launches and more on improving its dire human rights record.

"Countries that have ratified human rights treaties, which include North Korea, have an obligation to take concrete steps to alleviate the human rights situation, particularly, around things like food, health and education," Heenan said.

Already widely considered one of the world's most repressive countries, the North's treatment of its people worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. The government ramped up threats of "execution, imprisonment, enforced disappearances and forced hard labor," according to one report. This has coincided with a renewed emphasis on developing expensive military hardware. 

Heenan will take questions on these issues and discuss the UN's recent report on enforced disappearance and abductions by North Korea. A lawyer by training, he was the head of the OHCHR Office in the occupied Palestinian territory from 2015. He has worked with OHCHR for 20 years. Prior to joining the UN, he worked in academia on labor rights issues, and was a practicing lawyer in the UK and in his native Australia.

How to attend: 
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding. 

How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live 
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel. 

How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/KrnZErZqajY8UZqY7
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.

TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event. 

Professional Activities Committee