International NGOs urge Kim to end human rights abuses
Tokyo, June 8 : Over 50 international non-governmental organisations on Thursday called on the leader of North Korea to put an end to human rights abuses in the country.
In a letter addressed to Kim Jong-un, the NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, urge him to end abuses committed in detention centers and prisons, documented and reported by the United Nations, and called on him to act on the human rights recommendations by the UN, Efe reported.
"As your government undertakes new efforts to increase its engagement with the rest of the world, we urge you to move rapidly to institute lasting improvements to the dire human rights situation" the country, the letter began.
It was sent to Kim ahead of the highly anticipated summit on June 12 between the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump in Singapore, which is expected to focus heavily on the denuclearization of the East Asian country.
"North Korea's increased dialogue with other countries is a positive step, but before the world gets too excited they should remember that Kim Jong Un still presides over perhaps the most repressive system in the world," Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
"If he really wants to end North Korea's international isolation, he should take strong and quick action to show the North Korean people and the world that he is committed to ending decades of rights abuses," Adams added.
Although Trump himself has strongly criticized North's human rights abuses, this issue is not expected to be discussed during the historic summit.
"Understandably, human rights are not the primary objective of the summit, the focus of which are denuclearization and security issues," Arnold Fang, East Asia Researcher at Amnesty International said.
The expert said that the human rights "should be raised at any discussion with North Korea" adding that AI and other international organisations had already asked Trump to include the issue in his dialogue with the North, in a letter sent in May.
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“Bleeding on the road, I begged for help but no one came”: Bengaluru woman recounts husband’s death
Bengaluru: A woman in Bengaluru has shared a painful account of how her husband died after they were repeatedly denied medical help and ignored by passersby during a medical emergency, NDTV reported.
The victim, 34-year-old Venkataramanan, a garage mechanic from Balaji Nagar, developed severe chest pain around 3.30 am. His wife immediately took him on a motorcycle in search of medical help.
"He complained about chest pain, and we went to the first hospital. However, the doctor was not on duty. At the second hospital, we were told he had a stroke and to go to another hospital. When we called for ambulance services, they did not respond properly. Humanity failed, but we did our bit by donating his eye." NDTV quoted his wife as saying.
According to the report, after being turned away twice, the couple met with an accident on the road. CCTV footage later showed the woman, covered in blood, pleading with folded hands as vehicles passed by, but no one stopped to help.
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The wait ended after several minutes when a cab driver stopped and rushed Venkataramanan to a nearby hospital. Doctors there declared him dead on arrival.
As per the report, the family decided to donate Venkataramanan’s eyes, giving sight to others even in death.
Venkataraman's mother, who had lost her last surviving child, had no words to express herself: "I have no words. I do not know what to say. My son is gone."
"The government should understand a health emergency. My daughter is left with two children. Who will look after them?" asked his mother-in-law. His wife, mother, and two children, a five-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter now survive Venkataramanan.
The incident has once again raised serious questions about emergency healthcare access, ambulance response, and public apathy in the city.
