ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS The right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief (also known as ‘religious freedom’) is considered fundamental under international law. Possessing distinct and interrelated entitlements, international law provides for and guarantees an individual’s right to religious freedom, encompassing theistic, non-theistic, and atheistic beliefs. This international legal framework is principally based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees; and respective General Comments, standards, and norms that are considered international or customary international law.2 Although the North Korean government is not party to all the aforementioned covenants and treaties, it is still bound by fundamental and customary elements and interpretations of the right to religious freedom. However, these freedoms are in fact subordinate to and overruled by a document known as the Ten Principles for Establishing a Monolithic Leadership System.3 This document has as its purpose to bring each North Korean individual’s thoughts and acts in line with the teachings of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un. It is the primary mission of the Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea to uphold the Ten Principles. The Organization and Guidance Department accomplishes this through surveillance of the North Korean leadership and central government and party organs, which in turn command the cadres and provincial organs below them, by means of the Workers’ Party of Korea committee system. With the ruling party enforcing the Ten Principles across government and society, the document serves as the de facto constitution. Nevertheless, North Korea maintains a separate constitution, as well as a canon of laws that includes a criminal code. Under Article 68 of the constitution “citizens have freedom of religious belief,” but additional sentences follow to qualify that clause.4 First, it considers the right of religious freedom as a right to be “granted” by the state, rather than a freedom that is inherent to individuals as it is understood in international law. Second, it characterizes the right to religious freedom as being guaranteed through buildings and ceremonies approved by the state, rather than the broader fundamental principles that constitute the forum internum and forum externum. Together with the “granted” aspect of religious freedom under the North Korean constitution, these clauses accurately reflect the situation in North Korea today. The Workers’ Party of Korea maintains, for example, church buildings in Pyongyang. It instructs a small group of approved specialized cadres to perform Christian ceremonies in these buildings, while at the same time forbidding North Korean citizens—including that group of specialized cadres—to live as Christians. Similarly, the Workers’ Party of Korea maintains temples where it instructs a small group of approved specialized cadres to perform the role of Buddhist monks. Third, the constitution establishes the framework for the political criminalization of religious activities. For example, 2 United Nations. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights; United Nations. “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx.; United Nations. “International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ cescr.aspx; United Nations. “Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.12_declaration%20elimination%20intolerance%20and%20discrimination.pdf; United Nations. “Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx; United Nations. “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CEDAW.aspx; United Nations. “Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/StatusOfRefugees.aspx. 3 “Collection of Current Acts and Regulations of North Korea,” National Intelligence Service (South Korea), accessed July 20, 2021, https://www.nis.go.kr:4016/resources/down/2020_ north_law_01.pdf 4 Ibid, 38. Organized Persecution: Documenting Religious Freedom Violations in North Korea 7