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North, South Korean Leaders in Fact Proclaimed End of State of War – Seoul

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have in fact proclaimed the end of the state of war, the South Korean presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday.

“Leaders of the South and the North have in fact announced the end of the war on the Korean Peninsula by their agreements,” the spokesperson said.

Leaders of North Korea and South Korea have signed a joint agreement following the summit in Pyongyang. Also, the agreement in military sphere was signed by South Korean Defense Minister, Song Young-moo, and North Korean Defense Minister of People’s Armed Forces, No Kwang Chol in the presence of the two states’ leaders.

According to the joint statement by the leaders, North Korea decided to fully dismantle its rocket testing field in Tonchkhan-ni and will let international observers visit the field.

The statement also said that North Korea was going to dismantle its nuclear reactor in Yonbyon within the framework of agreements with the United States.

© AP Photo/ uncredited

US Must ‘Show Commitment’ to Peace Talks with North Korea – Scholar

After the meeting, North Korean leader promised to visit Seoul in near future. He also said that both nations agreed to make efforts to denuclearize the peninsula. Meanwhile, South Korean president said that Seoul an Pyongyang agreed to remove threat of war on Korean Peninsula.The joint statement also said that the works on connection of roads and railways between the two nations would start before the year’s end.

Seoul and Pyongyang also agreed to send joint team to 2020 Olympic games as well as to submit joint bid to host 2032 games.

The meeting of the nations’ leaders took place on Wednesday in the “one-on-one” format in the official residence for the honorable guests. The persons accompanying the leaders were waiting for the end of their conversation in the corridor.

The two nations agreed to cease large-scale artillery exercises and military flights near demarcation line. They also agreed to withdraw servicemen from the demilitarised zone and disarm personnel in Panmunjom truce village. Two Koreas agreed to create 80-kilometre zone free from military exercises in Yellow sea, sea of Japan.

Earlier, a spokesperson for Seoul administration confirmed that DPRK and South Korea would sign a military agreement and a joint statement after the summit.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is on a three-day visit in Pyongyang, which the first visit by a president of South Korea to Pyongyang in nearly 11 years, as former president Roh Moo-hyun travelled to North Korea back in October 2007.

READ MORE: Seoul, Pyongyang Open Joint Liaison Office in North Korea — Reports

During South Korean President’s visit it was planned that the leader would twice hold talks with Kim Jong-un and discuss further improvement of relations, denuclearization and development of dialogue between North Korea and the United States.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201809191068152005-north-south-korea-will-sign-agreement/

September 23, 2018 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

39th HRC Session: Oral Statement on the Hazardous Working Conditions Faced by Fukushima Cleanup Workers

September 20, 2018

On 12 September 2018, Human Rights Now gave an oral statement on the Hazardous Working Conditions Faced by Fukushima Cleanup Workers at the 39^th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Fukushima cleanup workers have been subjected to hazardous working conditions and misled about the negative health impacts involved. In the statement we called on the Japanese government to expand its verification system to ensure contractors are following relevant duties and to verify the effectiveness of existing inspections by a credible independent party or by publicly releasing for evaluation their criteria and procedures. We also asked the government to accept the Special Rapporteur on toxic waste’s request to visit Japan in 2019.

The video and the full text of the statement can be accessed below.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President.

Human Rights Now is concerned about the negative health impacts and labour exploitation of cleanup workers at the decommissioned Fukushima nuclear power plant, where 76,951 workers were reported doing cleanup and related work up to 2016. The Japanese government recently acknowledged the death of a cleanup worker by cancer due to radiation exposure, as well as three others who developed leukemia and thyroid cancer.

The August 16 communication by three special rapporteurs also voiced concern with reports of deception of cleanup workers about health risks and other issues by recruitment brokers and insufficient training and protective
measures by contractors and subcontractors. Such practices threaten workers’ rights to health, a safe working environment, and relevant labour rights.

The Japanese government’s response mentioned several measures; obligating contractors to provide special training and medical checks, providing them group guidance on workers’ rights, surveys to identify deception and other employment violations, urging improvements of malicious companies, and inspections by various agencies to identify violations in labour standards, working conditions, and payments. These measures have common shortcomings: Reciting obligations and providing guidance and instruction does not ensure they are respected, and the effectiveness of surveys and inspections is at best merely assumptive.

Mr. Vice President,

We call on the Japanese government to expand its verification system to ensure contractors are following relevant duties and verify the effectiveness of existing inspections by a credible independent party or by publicly releasing for evaluation their criteria and procedures. We also ask the government to accept the Special Rapporteur on toxic waste’s request to visit Japan in 2019.

Thank you.

39th HRC Session: Oral Statement on the Hazardous Working Conditions Faced by Fukushima Cleanup Workers

Further reading here;

#Fukushima United Nations #OHCR report update 18th September 2018 #IDP

September 23, 2018 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment