This statement was delivered by Human Rights Watch at the 61st regular session of the UN Human Rights Council during an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea held on March 13, 2026.
We thank the Special Rapporteur for her report, which proposes measurable indicators to track the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s implementation of accepted Universal Periodic Review recommendations, exposing the gap between commitments and reality.
Despite repeatedly accepting recommendations on freedom of movement, the DPRK has continued to impose escalating restrictions. The Special Rapporteur documents expanded fences and guard posts to prevent escape, and longstanding domestic travel permit requirements whose enforcement has intensified since the Covid-19 pandemic. Only 224 escapees reached the Republic of Korea in 2025, reflecting DPRK’s near-total border closure. Border guards remain under “shoot-on-sight” orders for anyone attempting to leave without permission. These restrictions have devastating consequences: Human Rights Watch recently publicized the case of a North Korean woman detained in China who sold herself into a forced marriage to finance her son’s passage to South Korea. She now faces forced return to DPRK, at risk of torture, imprisonment, and forced labor for leaving without permission.
On the right to work, the DPRK rejected all recommendations on forced labor, while enacting the 2025 Labour Management Act, which consolidates the state’s assignment of all citizens to workplaces, a form of forced labor.
We urge member states to:
- Support the renewal the Special Rapporteur's mandate; and
- Increase financial support for civil society organizations conducting crucial monitoring and reporting on the DPRK, especially those affected by recent US funding cuts.
