The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – South America; Focus Country – Peru

The pardon granted to former President President Alberto Fujimori was widely criticized by the international community. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that according to some UN human rights experts, this presidential pardon was a “slap in the face” to victims of human rights abuses who had fought very hard for justice. Fujimori was serving a 25-year jail sentence for serious human rights violations including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and kidnapping. However, the current President, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, decided to pardon him triggering widespread protests. While the pardon may go against Peru’s international human rights obligations, the blatant disregard for such serious human rights violations is a cause for concern.

The political influence exercised by individuals such as Fujimori puts the entire criminal justice delivery system in jeopardy. The administrators of justice, the courts, also have limited independent powers when it comes to addressing violations including extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture. Further, police abuse has been rampant over the course of the recent decade (2006-2016), killing more than 130 people in relation to protests, as per the Human Rights Watch. An active role of the international community is necessary with regard to ensuring justice to Peru’s victims.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of human rights issues, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/human-rights

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Eurasia; Focus Country – Russia

Unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression, association, and peaceful assembly are on the rise in Russia. While the government continues to arrest prominent human rights defenders and independent critics on the basis of dubious charges, it has also passed laws to curb the activities of NGOs in the country by labeling them as ‘foreign agents’. People who had participated in the anti-government protests in Bolotnaya Square continue to face prosecution and those who had criticized the authorities in Chechnya have been exposed to physical attacks by non-state actors.

Many human rights activists were booked under the anti-extremism legislation for criticizing the government’s policies and possessing materials which were considered to be extremist. They have faced criminal prosecution for human rights-related activities. There have also been prosecutions involving online speech over the recent course of time. Most of these charges relate to Crimea being a part of Ukraine, and not Russia. While Russia’s human rights violations in Ukraine have attracted global attention, human rights abuses within its territory should attract more attention from the international community. It intends to play a dominant role in world affairs, but the same cannot be realized without protection of human rights and basic freedoms.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of human rights issues, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/human-rights/

North Korea and its Nuke Dreams

North Korea’s ambitions

North Korea has made it very clear that it will not be left behind in the race for power. After a series of nuclear weapons tests, Kim Jong Un has managed to rattle the entire international community. The last and the most powerful test (thus far) apparently involved the detonation of a hydrogen bomb which has the capacity to cause more damage than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. This follows the two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests which were conducted in July. These tests alarmed the US and a war of words ensued between the two leaders. However, an important question which arises is this: To what extent has North Korea developed its nuclear weapons programme? Can it pose a serious threat to its enemies and neighbours?

How far has it gone?

According to some experts with The Guardian, North Korea may not be far from developing a fully functional ICBM. They need to complete the miniaturization process so that the bomb fits the nuclear missile. While North Korea claims that it has successfully ‘miniaturized’ nuclear warheads, international experts have expressed skepticism regarding its claims. However, according to information leaked to The Washington Post in August, US intelligence officials now believe that North Korea possesses the capability of miniaturization. Japan is also not dismissing the country’s nuclear potential. The intermediate range ballistic missile tested by North Korea in August, passed over Japan, indicating that Kim Jong Un also intends to unsettle his country’s neighbours.

History of its nuclear programme

North Korea’s nuclear capacity building started in the early 1950s. Effective nuclear work began to progress once cooperative agreements were established with the Soviet Union. However, though an initial stimulus was provided by the Soviet Union, North Korea’s nuclear programme was largely indigenous. By the early 1980s, North Korea had constructed uranium milling facilities, fuel rod fabrication complex, and a nuclear reactor, along with research and development institutions. In 1985, it decided to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapon state. However, it withdrew from the NPT in 2003 in retaliation to US sanctions. The Six-Party Talks between North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, and the US began in 2003 with the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. However, these talks have been suspended since April 2009.

Conclusion

According to a Senior Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Six-Party Talks have yielded little progress in denuclearizing North Korea. The Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT recognised in its May 2017 report that despite the international community’s strong and persistent opposition, North Korea had not ceased its nuclear programme. While North Korea seems determined in expanding its nuclear capacity, according to The Envoy, diplomacy has failed to deter its nuclear ambitions. While the world is grappling with North Korea’s actual nuclear capabilities, President Donald Trump has reacted to North Korea’s nuclear tests by saying that, “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” While diplomacy may not be the solution in this case, neither is a full-blown military war with North Korea. The North Korea problem is a tricky one and the international community has to participate actively and think of ways to handle Kim Jong Un and his nuke dreams.

For an overview of The Envoy’s coverage of World Affairs, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/World/