On 10 December 2024, Korea Future submitted a detailed report to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPRK, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls. This submission brought urgent attention to the intersectional human rights violations suffered by religious women in the DPRK’s prison system. These women endure compounded discrimination as a result of their gender and faith, creating what we have identified as a state of "double vulnerability."
Religious women in the DPRK face horrifying violations, including sexual violence, forced abortions, arbitrary detention, torture, and forced labour. These are not random acts but carefully orchestrated strategies by the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) to suppress religion and enforce ideological conformity. Public executions, often staged to deter dissent, further highlight the severe consequences faced by those practising their faith in a state that criminalises religious belief.
The submission was supported by findings from over 400 interviews conducted between 2019 and 2024 with victims and former state agents, as well as data from Korea Future’s North Korean Religious Freedom and North Korean Prison Databases. These findings underline the scale of violations and the systematic use of state power to target religious women.
The submission underscores the central role of the WPK as both the architect and enforcer of repression in the DPRK. Unlike conventional governments with independent institutions, the WPK consolidates absolute control over all aspects of governance. Its policies, such as the enforcement of the Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System, drive the widespread violations faced by religious women.
Religious practices, particularly Christianity, are viewed as ideological threats by the WPK. Christians are categorised as "hostile" and subjected to extreme punishments, including execution, forced labour, and torture. State-recognised religious groups, such as Buddhists and Chondoists, exist only as extensions of the WPK’s propaganda apparatus, masking the reality of total religious suppression.
Key findings from the submission include:
Sexual violence and forced abortions: Religious women are subjected to sexual violence as a tool of repression and ideological cleansing. Forced abortions, often carried out without medical care, reflect the state’s inhumane efforts to erase religious identity.
Forced labour and arbitrary detention: Women are forced into gruelling labour in life-threatening conditions, often without basic necessities. Detention is frequently accompanied by collective punishment, targeting entire families for an individual’s religious beliefs.
Public executions: Executions serve as public spectacles of repression, with children often forced to witness these events to instil fear and suppress future dissent.
The targeting of religious women by the DPRK constitutes clear breaches of international legal obligations under treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The documented violations include breaches of rights to life, freedom from torture, and freedom of religion, as well as protection from violence and exploitation.
Korea Future’s submission calls on the international community to prioritise the protection of religious women in the DPRK. Targeted actions, including the implementation of Magnitsky-style sanctions against WPK officials responsible for these violations, are essential. The submission also urges coordinated efforts to amplify the voices of survivors, support accountability mechanisms, and advocate for sustained international pressure on the DPRK.
The resilience of underground religious communities in the DPRK is remarkable, but the cost is immense. This submission is a reminder that the international community has a responsibility to act decisively to address these atrocities and protect those who remain most vulnerable.
