NHRCK Chairperson’s Opinion on the Oral Statement by the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the DPRK at the 43rd
Session of the UN Human Rights Council
-Welcoming the Special Rapporteur’s call for reunions of separated families and international cooperation to fight COVID-19-
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (Chairperson Choi Young-ae) appreciates the oral statement made by Tomas Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, which builds on an earlier attempt to reveal the current human rights situation of the DPRK and hold perpetrators of human rights abuses to account and puts forward measures to achieve substantial improvement in human rights of the country.
Presenting his report to the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur called on the DPRK authorities to allow unimpeded access to humanitarian actors and defuse tensions in order to stem the spread of COVID-19 and the UN Security Council to assess the negative impact of sanctions on economic, social and cultural rights of North Koreans.
It is of particular significance that the Special Rapporteur emphasized a trust-based approach of the international community to human rights in the DPRK in light of the progress that the DPRK has made recently, including the first-ever visit to the DPRK by the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the state report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and participation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The Special Rapporteur mentioned food shortages, poor working conditions, control and surveillance over North Koreans and human rights abuses at political prison camps and devoted a large part of his report to examining serious human rights violations against women. According to the research by the Special Rapporteur, women in the DPRK are excluded from the major decision-making processes, asked to give bribes or grant sexual favors when engaging in small-scale commercial activities to support their families, show only a 18.2 percent enrollment rate of higher education (compared with 35.5 percent for men), and suffer from a lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities.
Women may face greater risks in disaster situations, such as war, natural disasters, famine and spread of COVID-19. In this regard, the Commission joins the Special Rapporteur in calling for the implementation of the CEDAW’s recommendations by the DPRK.
With regard to reunions of separated families, the Special Rapporteur urged the DPRK authorities to resume negotiations with the government of the Republic of Korea. No family reunion has been held since August 2018. The plight of families, who remain separated for almost 70 years by the Korean War and the subsequent division of the Korean peninsula without knowing the whereabouts of their loved ones, is one of the most pressing and significant human rights issues facing the two Koreas.
It is stated in Article 16 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. Considering their old age, separated families cannot afford any more delays in family reunions. Thus, the governments of the ROK and DPRK should use every possible means to ensure regular reunions of family members or, at the very least, confirmation of the fate and whereabouts of lost relatives and exchange of letters.
The National Human Rights Commission appreciates the Special Rapporteur’s statement calling for protection and promotion of human rights in the DPRK through dialogue and cooperation and encourages the ROK government to work together with the international community for the establishment of a peace regime. Above all, we urge the governments of the two Koreas to take prompt action to relieve the sufferings of separated families.
