Today, we release our first position paper, a critical examination of the gaps in the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UN HRC) resolutions concerning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea's (DPRK) penal system and our proposed amendments for more comprehensive accountability. The position paper reflects our ongoing commitment to highlighting systemic human rights violations within the DPRK and the need for enhanced international efforts to address these issues.
Since the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights in the DPRK concluded its mandate in 2014, subsequent investigations have uncovered a penal system significantly more extensive than initially reported, characterised by pervasive, systematic, and gender-specific breaches of international human rights norms.
This expansion of knowledge, however, has not been proportionately mirrored in the resolutions of the UN HRC regarding DPRK's human rights situation. Prior resolutions have predominantly referenced political prison camps, "ordinary prisons," and "detention facilities" without encompassing the full spectrum of the penal infrastructure, including waiting rooms, holding centres, detention centres, labour training centres, and labour training camps. The language employed by the UN HRC to date falls short of addressing systemic violations across the DPRK’s entire penal system.
Our position paper recommends precise modifications to the forthcoming 2024 resolution, aiming to ensure comprehensive recognition of the entire penal architecture and the extensive human rights abuses occurring within. Through these adjustments, we advocate for a resolution that more accurately encapsulates post-COI evidentiary advancements, honours the lived experiences of survivors, and fortifies the international community’s commitment to holding the DPRK accountable for its human rights transgressions.
