North Korea could face human rights probe

(Vatican Radio) The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, is urging closer scrutiny of North Korea’s rights record. Speaking on Monday, Pillay said that as many as 200,000 people are being held in North Korean political prison camps. A spokesman for the UN’s Human Rights Council, Rupert Coville explained that the concerns arise from and are based on extensive research submitted by a special investigator for the 47-nation Geneva-based organ, as well as on meetings Pillay held in December with two survivors of the camps. Colville described, “A camp system that is believed to hold 200,000, no one really knows for sure. Some of whom were born there; spend pretty much all their lives there. A situation where they can be executed for pretty much nothing, for just saying a few things that aren’t politically correct, where people are tortured, women reportedly raped by camp guards; a complete lack of rule of law of any sort.” The U.N. Human Rights Council and the U.N. General Assembly have condemned North Korea's human rights record in the past. The High Commissioner for Human Rights is now saying that stronger action is needed, including the probe for which she is calling — to be authorized by the United Nations but conducted by independent experts. Listen to our report: