We thank the Special Rapporteur for her report, outlining accountability efforts made in relation to human rights violations in the DPRK.
Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting how North Korea’s drive to control its population through fear and overbroad and prolonged measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, amidst the UN Security Council sanctions of 2016 and 2017, resulted in an even more centralized, repressive and isolated state. The government harmed its economy and people’s ability to make a living, and exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis, affecting the availability of food and essentials needed by North Koreans to survive.
We share the Special Rapporteur’s concerns about North Korea’s aggressive tightening of freedom of expression with laws used to prosecute and severely punish North Koreans for trivial offenses, including using South Korean vocabulary or slang, or watching South Korean movies or television series.
Given the severity of the violations and the need for follow-up on the tenth anniversary of the Commission of Inquiry, we are calling on the Human Rights Council to support a resolution mandating a comprehensive update report on the human rights situation in the DPRK and renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on North Korea. Given North Korea’s weapons development is supported by widespread use of forced labor and systematic repression, we also recommend the Council ensure that the nexus between weapons development and human rights be further investigated.
