Dear Excellencies, Dear Colleagues,
We, the undersigned civil society groups urge your government to support the proposed resolution on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK” or “North Korea”) at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council. We believe that it is critical for the international community to support this resolution, which calls for an update to the 2014 Commission of Inquiry’s (“COI”) report on North Korea and renews the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea.
Ten years ago, the COI published a groundbreaking report that advanced the international community’s understanding of North Korea’s human rights violations and catalyzed action to pursue justice. The report concluded that the North Korean government had committed crimes against humanity, including extermination, murder, imprisonment, enslavement, torture, rape, sexual violence, persecution, forcible transfer of a population, enforced disappearances, and starvation, against its own people. The report found that the “gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.”
Unfortunately, in the decade since the COI report’s publication in 2014, there has been a continued decline in human rights in North Korea, particularly regarding freedom of movement and expression. On January 23, 2020, North Korea shut its borders in response to COVID-19. The North Korean government implemented a standing “shoot on sight” order at the northern border, leading to record low numbers of escapees reaching South Korea. During this period, the government also imposed harsh punishments for consuming and distributing foreign media. Unfortunately, detailed reporting about the situation on the ground is difficult to obtain. While the Special Rapporteur plays an indispensable role for the international community by providing annual reports on the situation in North Korea, we believe it is imperative for the United Nations to produce a comprehensive document that examines the overall human rights situation in the country in the period since 2014, including after Kim Jong Un assumed leadership.
Additionally, we recommend that the Human Rights Council and its member states take further action to ensure that the nexus between North Korea’s weapons development and the human rights situation is systematically investigated. North Korea’s weapons development is supported by the widespread use of forced labour and systematic repression, and, as noted in the United Nations General Assembly resolution adopted in December 2023, the North Korean government prioritizes “its illicit nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes over the welfare of its people.”
We urge you to adopt the resolution on North Korea and utilize the 10th anniversary of the publication of the COI report as a time for renewing the resolve to address the rights deficit in the country and as a critical touchpoint to revitalize the work of the United Nations and the international community to ensure justice and accountability for victims and survivors of human rights violations in North Korea.
Sincerely,
Signature organizations and individuals (as of March 18, 2024)
Individuals:
Lord Alton of Liverpool / Independent Crossbench Member of the House of Lords & Co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea
Sonja Biserko / Former Commission of Inquiry (COI) member on the situation of human rights in the DPRK & current chair at the Helsinki Human Rights Committee in Serbia
Marzuki Darusman / Former UN Special Rapporteur/Commission on Inquiry (COI) member on the situation of human rights in the DPRK
Kim Kyu Li and Kim Hyuk (elder sister and cousin of Kim Cheol-ok who was repatriated by China to North Korea on October 9, 2023)
Kim Jeong-sam (elder brother of missionary Kim Jeong-wook who has been held in detention in North Korea since 2013)
Lee Jung-hoon / Former Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights of the Republic of Korea
Suzanne Scholte / Seoul Peace Prize Recipient & President of Defense Forum Foundation (USA)
Tomás Ojea-Quintana / Former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK
Organizations:
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO)
Asia Democracy Network (ADN)
Association of North Korean Defectors (NKD)
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Balay Alternative Legal Advocates for Development in Mindanaw, Inc. (BALAOD Mindanaw)
Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU)
Center for Justice and Accountability
Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo de América Latina (CADAL)
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)
Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR)
Families of the Disappeared (FoD)
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
Global Rights Compliance (GRC)
HanVoice
Human Asia
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
International Christian Concern (ICC)
International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Justice For North Korea
Korean War POW Family Association
Mental Health and Human Rights Info
Mulmangcho
No Chain
No Fence
North Korea Strategy Center (NKSC)
People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE)
Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR)
Society to Help Returnees to North Korea (HRN)
Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolutions of Disputes (SACCORD)
Stepping Stones
THINK
Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
