[JURIST] A UN human rights expert said Thursday that there is enough evidence to hold North Korean leader Kim Jong Un [BBC profile] responsible for “massive” human rights atrocities committed by the state. In February the UN released a report [text, PDF; JURIST report] concluding that North Korean security chiefs, and possibly Kim Jong Un, should face international justice for ordering systematic torture, starvation and imprisonment for speaking out against the government. The February report “was able to point unequivocally to the responsibility and the culpability [for] these massive human rights violations to a single source of policy decision-making in the country,” UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea Marzuki Darusman told a forum [Reuters report] in Seoul, South Korea. “And therefore it’s only now that we are in a position to in fact directly put culpability on the supreme leader for these massive human rights violations.” A UN resolution drafted by the EU and Japan urges North Korea’s referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] for crimes against humanity. However, the resolution does not name Kim Jong Un himself. Only the UN Security Council can refer the case to the ICC. However, China, North Korea’s main benefactor, is expected to veto the referral.

The UN has sought to investigate and counter alleged human rights abuses in North Korea in the past. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] in March adopted a resolution [JURIST report] urging the UN Security Council to take action against those responsible for documented crimes against humanity in North Korea. In February then-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated that there can no longer be any excuses for inaction [JURIST report] in North Korea following the release of a UN report. In September the UN Human Rights Commission reported widespread human rights abuses [JURIST report] occurring in the country. Last year Darusman and a group of independent human rights experts announced their support for an international inquiry [JURIST report] into human rights violations in North Korea to bring awareness to the country’s system of political prison camps. Also last year Darusman urged the UNHRC and the General Assembly to investigate human rights violations [JURIST report] in North Korea.