Persistent Human Rights Violations in the DPRK: Pathways to Accountability – Reflections from HRC58

On 19 March 2025, Korea Future co-hosted a side event at the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, titled 'Persistent Human Rights Violations in the DPRK: Pathways to Accountability'. The event was co-sponsored by the Republic of Korea, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, the European Union, Japan, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and OMCT. It brought together survivor representatives, legal experts, and international stakeholders to explore practical mechanisms for holding perpetrators in the DPRK accountable.

Korea Future’s Head of Accountability, Hyeonsim Lee, presented findings from our North Korean Prison Database, which holds information on  nearly 10,000 cases of human rights violations, over 1,000 identified perpetrators, and more than 200 prison facilities. She also introduced our visual investigations of prison facilities—an innovation designed to help bridge the gap between survivor testimony and the inability of investigators and journalists to enter DPRK.

Our evidence continues to inform and underpin international responses. It played a pivotal role in the European Union’s 2024 targeted human rights sanctions against North Korean perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence, and has shaped recent resolutions at both the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, ensuring that emerging evidence is reflected in global policymaking. 

The full room at Palais des Nations demonstrated an international commitment to accountability. It is no longer a question of if justice can be pursued in the DPRK, but how. Korea Future remains dedicated to advancing this work through rigorous documentation, innovative methodologies, and survivor-centred approaches that support practical, concrete steps towards justice.