By Vibhu Mishra
15 May
2025
Each called for justice under international law
and for perpetrators to be held accountable.
Sung-Eui
Lee, daughter of a South Korean man abducted by North Korean
forces during the Korean War, and Ruby Chen, father of an
Israeli soldier taken by Hamas during the 7 October 2023
attacks on Israel, spoke in the Security
Council.
Together they called for resolution 2474
to be upheld, which affirms the right of families to know
the fate of missing relatives in armed
conflict.
75-year-long wait
“For 75 years,
I’ve been waiting for my father to come back,” said Ms.
Lee, who was just 18 months old when her father, prosecutor
Jong-Ryong Lee, was forcibly taken to North
Korea.
“We still do not know where he is,
whether he is alive or dead. This is the first and
the largest case of enforced disappearance, and it remains
unresolved.”
This is an ongoing
crime
– Sung-Eui Lee, daughter of
Jong Ryong Lee
Representing
the Korean War Abductees Family Union, she described decades
of effort to document the abductions and press for answers,
efforts often met with silence from Pyongyang.
An
ongoing crime
“In spite of all the clear evidence
including the living witnesses like us, the DPRK (Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea – as North Korea is formally
known) has never admitted their abduction crime. This is an
ongoing crime, the first and the largest case of enforced
disappearance,” Ms. Lee said.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
She urged the
international community to hold North Korea accountable,
including by referring the case to the International Criminal
Court (ICC), and to support the repatriation or
identification of the remains of the nearly 100,000 others
missing.
“This is an ongoing crime,” she said.
“If this case was properly resolved…subsequent
kidnapping crimes in Japan, Thailand, Romania – could have
been prevented.”
Not
knowing
Speaking next, Ruby Chen spoke of the pain of
not knowing the fate of his son, Itay Chen – a joint
US-German-Israeli national – after being captured by
Hamas.
The 19-year-old soldier was stationed near the
Gaza border when he and his tank crew were attacked and
taken on 7 October 2023.
For 587
days, we have waited
– Ruby Chen,
father of Itay Chen
“For
587 days, we have waited,” Mr. Chen
said.
“In March, the Israeli military told
us Itay likely did not survive. But Hamas refuses to confirm
and refuses to return him – even in
death.”
He described the refusal to
acknowledge or release the bodies of deceased hostages as a
form of “slow psychological torture,” not only for his
family but for dozens of others.
Families deserve
closure
“What kind of human beings take
deceased people and use them as negotiation
chips,” he said, “Who denies the deceased the
last basic human dignity that they deserve?”
Mr.
Chen called for the appointment of a dedicated UN special
representative or envoy for hostage affairs and address the
broad range violations and harms associated with hostage
taking.
“There must be consequences,” Chen said.
“This isn’t just a political issue – it’s a
humanitarian one. Families deserve closure.
Hostage-taking must become a liability, not a strategic
asset.”
Resolution 2474
The
testimonies were delivered during a Security Council session
dedicated to missing persons in armed conflict.
Resolution
2474, adopted unanimously in 2019, obliges all parties
in conflict to take all appropriate measures to account for
the missing, enable the return of their remains, and to
provide families with information on their loved ones’
fate.
Also speaking in the Council, Khaled Khiari,
Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Department of
Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned that the crisis
of missing persons continues to deepen in conflicts
worldwide.
In Ukraine, large numbers of civilians –
including children – remain unaccounted for in areas under
Russian occupation. In Myanmar, disappearances have surged
since the 2021 military coup, amid a lack of due
process.
In Syria, the missing persons crisis has
become a defining feature of the conflict, Mr. Khiari said,
noting also that questions remain over the fate of those
missing from the 1991 Gulf War, as well as the enduring
impacts on families and communities in Cyprus.
Let us
move on
Both speakers underscored the need for the
Security Council deliver on the resolution’s
promise.
“Time is running short,” Ms. Lee told
ambassadors. “Most siblings and spouses of the
abductees have already passed away. We, the children, are
growing old. There is not much time
left.”
Mr. Chen echoed her plea: “I request your
support to enable families of this tragic fate, such
as mine, have closure and the ability to move on to the next
sad chapter in
life.”
