Punish human rights violations
The United States Senate unanimously passed a bill on Feb 10. that enforces sanctions against North Korea. The bill was passed in response to North Korea’s hydrogen bomb test on Jan. 6, their satellite launch on Feb. 7 and their ongoing human rights violations.
This is not the first time North Korea has engaged in activity that has violated international law. Their longstanding policy of torturing citizens who try to leave the country is a prime example of a blatant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that has taken place over the years, according to Human Rights Watch. Other domestic violations have included starvation, slavery and discrimination, according to northkoreanow.org.
North Korea has some experience in testing genocide-inducing weapons without consent. Ever since violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1993, their government has disregarded the safety of its people and of other nations and has focused instead on making their presence known in the world, regardless of how they do it.
In the past, the U.S. has tried bribing North Korea into disengaging from nuclear practices. In 2011, the U.S. tried to provide North Korea with food assistance in exchange for the suspension of their uranium enrichment program. Since then, North Korea has launched numerous long-range missiles and satellites and has tested several nuclear weapons. The country has also threatened the United States with the possibility of nuclear strikes, according to CNN.
In light of the recent bomb tests and ongoing human rights violations, it makes perfect sense that the U.S. would put sanctions on North Korea. The past has proved that exchanging favors will not work. Starving their resources is the only logical move to stop them from tormenting their own people and threatening outsiders.
It is because of this that We The Threefold stand by the U.S. government and their decision to place sanctions against North Korea.