NHRCK Held Public Forum on North Korea’s National Report to UPR
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), on March 30, 2010 held a public forum on the North Korea’s national report of 2009 submitted to the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. The forum reviewed core contents of the national report and collected various opinions and assessments from government and NGO participants.
The UN Human Rights Council, through the UPR mechanism, regularly assesses human rights status of member states and adopts recommendations for the improvement of human rights in each state. The human rights conditions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) were pre-reviewed on December 5, 2009 during the 6th UPR Working Group Session. The 12th Human Rights Council adopted the UPR outcome report on the DPRK on December 9, 2009. The North Korea, on March 18, 2010 in the Human Rights Council, put forward its opinions against the evaluations and recommendations contained in the UPR outcome report.
The forum panel included South Korean Ambassador-At-Large for Human Rights, officials from the Ministry of Unification and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and representatives from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch who participated in North Korea UPR Session in 2009. Also representatives from Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, Korea Human Rights Foundation and academic research experts spoke at the forum as panelists and discussants.
