UN rights expert: North Korean leader should be prosecuted

GENEVA — A U.N. expert on human rights in North Korea said Monday supreme leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, asking a key rights body to authorize three experts to look into the legal aspects of criminal accountability.

 

Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Marzuki Darusman said international criminal law holds military and civilian leaders responsible for failing to prevent or repress crimes against humanity by those under their authority. He said that offers a “plausible theory” to hold Kim and other leaders “individually culpable.”

 

“It is now time for the international community to move on with the logical next step — which is pursuing accountability of the regime and those most responsible for violations of human rights in the country,” Darusman told reporters afterward.

 

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