Abductees' Families Meet U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights

Tokyo, May 15 (Jiji Press)--The families of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea decades ago met with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in Tokyo on Friday, seeking further cooperation to bring back all abductees.

"We asked for continued understanding and support from the United Nations for the return of all (abductees) at the same time," said Takuya Yokota, 57, head of a group of abductees' families. "We will never give up."

Yokota, whose sister, Megumi, was kidnapped at the age of 13, said he told Turk that treating abductions as a human rights issue is a very effective way to pressure North Korea.

Turk expressed solidarity with the families and vowed to work to raise international awareness of the abduction issue, according to sources who attended the closed-door meeting.

It was the first meeting between the families of Japanese abductees and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights since 2010. The latest meeting took place at the request of the high commissioner's side.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]