Fun Fast Facts:
Updated: 29 Jul 2014 (International law and world politics getting in the way of basic human rights)
- There is no visible LGBT community in North Korea and no LGBT rights movement.
- The country’s criminal code does not appear to expressly address same-sex sexuality or cross-dressing.
- It is unclear what the age of consent, if any, is for homosexual activity. Article 153 of the criminal law states that a man who has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 15 shall be “punished gravely”, but the law is unclear about the age of consent for boys or for same-sex sexual activity.
- The Constitution of North Korea stipulates that “citizens enjoy equal rights in all spheres of State and public activities”, but it does not expressly address discrimination on the basis of a citizen’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
- North Koreans who have since defected have stated that homosexuality is not talked about publicly and government censorship is heavily enforced. Most gay North Koreans are pressured to marry someone of the opposite sex.
- The Korean People’s Army mandates celibacy during the first 10 years of service for all enlistees. Male soldiers regularly break this rule with secret heterosexual trysts or rapes, and through homosexual activities within the armed services. These homosexual relationships have been described as “situational sexual behaviour” rather than a natural orientation.
International law and world politics getting in the way of basic human rights
Broadcast: 29 Jul 2014
LGBTIQ-friendly organisation: Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation
Kaleidoscope Australia is a not-for-profit organisation committed to promoting and protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in the Asia Pacific region. They work directly with local activists to enhance their capacity to combat prejudice, hostile authorities and discriminatory laws, helping them achieve the freedom and equality essential to living a life of dignity. They assist lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities in the Asia Pacific region by;
- writing independent ‘shadow’ reports for the UN Human Rights Committee’s review of states’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the UN Human Rights Council’s regular Universal Periodic Review of the human rights record of member nations.
- raising awareness of violations of their human rights through the press, social media and at conferences and events.
- connecting them with networks, resources and services in Australia and elsewhere.
- facilitating tailored training and educational materials to assist them in their important work.
W3JOY interviewed: Dr Paula Gerber of Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation
“Eighty countries around the world still criminalise homosexuality – most of those are Commonwealth countries. North Korea doesn’t fall into that camp at all.”
“Saudi Arabia says simply ‘we do not have any gays here’. Iran says the same thing. North Korea sort of acknowledges that they might have a genetic predisposition to homosexuality but basically you don’t act on it. You comply with societal requirements which is you get married, you produce children and it’s all about the family and the Leader.”
“I was surprised in my research; I came across a case in 2011 where two lesbians were executed – not because they were gay but because they were importing imperialistic, capitalist, immoral behaviour into the country.”
“He (Michael Kirby) said it did fall short of genocide…but not by much. The human rights atrocities going on there and the repression of the regime is just mind-blowing. For the first time we have very comprehensive documentation of the human rights violations in North Korea so that nobody can ever say we didn’t know this was going on.”
“This is where you see the conflict between international law and international relations because clearly North Korea’s conduct violates international human rights law but the political relations between the various countries mean that it can be very difficult to enforce that law.”