Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

A/HRC/RES/31/18No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 4Human rights situations that require the Council's attention, published in 2016.

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38 documents · 2006–2026

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2026).

2026A/HRC/RES/61/27Situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaCompare with earlier document
2025A/RES/80/220Situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaCompare with earlier document
2025A/HRC/RES/58/17Situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaCompare with earlier document
2024A/RES/79/181Situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaCompare with earlier document
2024A/HRC/RES/55/21Situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of KoreaCompare with earlier document

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What subjects does this mandate have?

9 topics

Accountability Commissions of Inquiry Crimes Against Humanity Democratic People's Republic of Korea Experts Field Offices Human Rights Human Rights Violations Special Rapporteurs

What does this mandate say?

39 operative paragraphs

Condemns in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations and other human rights abuses committed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and expresses its grave concern at the detailed findings made by the commission of inquiry in its report, including:

The denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and of the rights to freedom of opinion, expression and association, which is enforced through an absolute monopoly on information and total control over organized social life, and arbitrary and unlawful State surveillance that permeates the private lives of all citizens;

Discrimination based on the songbun system, which classifies people on the basis of State-assigned social class and birth, and also includes consideration of political opinions and religion, discrimination against women, including unequal access to employment, discriminatory laws and regulations, and violence against women;

Violations of all aspects of the right to freedom of movement, including forced assignment to State-designated places of residence and employment, often based on the songbun system, and denial of the right to leave one’s own country;

Systematic, widespread and grave violations of the right to food and related aspects of the right to life, exacerbated by widespread hunger and malnutrition;

Violations of the right to life and acts of extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape and other grave forms of sexual violence and persecution on political, religious and gender grounds in political prison camps and ordinary prisons, and the widespread practice of collective punishment with harsh sentences imposed on innocent individuals;

Systematic abduction, denial of repatriation and subsequent enforced disappearance of persons, including those from other countries, on a large scale and as a matter of State policy;

Urges the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to acknowledge the human rights violations in the country and to take immediate steps to end all such violations and abuses through, inter alia, the implementation of relevant recommendations in the report of the commission of inquiry, including, but not limited to, the following steps:

To ensure the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the rights to freedom of opinion, expression and association, including by permitting the establishment of independent newspapers and other media;

To end discrimination against citizens, including State-sponsored discrimination based on the songbun system, and to take immediate steps to ensure gender equality and to protect women from gender-based violence;

To ensure the right to freedom of movement, including the freedom to choose one’s place of residence and employment;

To promote equal access to food, including through full transparency regarding the provision of humanitarian assistance so that such assistance is genuinely provided to vulnerable persons;

To immediately halt all human right violations relating to prison camps, including the practice of forced labour, to dismantle all political prison camps and to release all political prisoners, to immediately cease the practice of the arbitrary execution of persons in custody, and to ensure that justice sector reforms provide protections for a fair trial and due process;

To resolve the issue of all persons who have been abducted or otherwise forcibly disappeared, and their descendants, in a transparent manner, including by ensuring their immediate return;

Reiterates its deep concern at the commission’s findings concerning the situation of refugees and asylum seekers returned to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and other citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who have been repatriated from abroad and made subject to sanctions, including internment, torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, sexual violence, enforced disappearance or the death penalty, and in this regard strongly urges all States to respect the fundamental principle of non-refoulement, to treat humanely those who seek refuge and to ensure unhindered access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with a view to protecting the human rights of those who seek refuge, and once again urges State parties to comply with their obligations under international human rights law and the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol thereto in relation to persons from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who are covered by those instruments;

Stresses and restates its grave concern about the commission’s finding that the body of testimony gathered and the information received provided reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, pursuant to policies established at the highest level of the State for decades; these crimes against humanity entail extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation;

Stresses that the authorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have failed to prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity and other human rights violations, and encourages the members of the international community to cooperate with accountability efforts and to ensure that these crimes do not remain unpunished;

Welcomes General Assembly resolution 70/172, in which the Assembly encouraged the Security Council to continue its consideration of the relevant conclusions and recommendations of the commission of inquiry and take appropriate action to ensure accountability, including through consideration of referral of the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the International Criminal Court and consideration of the scope for effective targeted sanctions against those who appear to be most responsible for acts that the commission has stated may constitute crimes against humanity;

Also welcomes the decision of the Security Council to hold a second Council meeting on 10 December 2015, following the one held in December 2014, during which the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was discussed, and looks forward to the continued and active engagement of the Council on this matter;

Commends the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the activities undertaken to date and his continued efforts in the conduct of his mandate despite the lack of access to the country;

Welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session, in which the Special Rapporteur called upon the Council to establish a group of independent experts on accountability;

Recalls the findings and recommendations of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to designate, for a period of six months, a maximum of two existing independent experts in support of the work of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to focus on issues of accountability for human rights violations in the country, in particular where such violations amount to crimes against humanity, as found by the commission of inquiry;

Requests the group of independent experts on accountability, taking into account existing international law and prevailing State practices with regard to accountability:

To explore appropriate approaches to seek accountability for human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in particular where such violations amount to crimes against humanity, as found by the commission of inquiry;

To recommend practical mechanisms of accountability to secure truth and justice for the victims of possible crimes against humanity in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, including the International Criminal Court;

Decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur of the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 28/22, for a period of one year;

Calls again upon all parties concerned, including United Nations bodies, to consider implementation of the recommendations made by the commission of inquiry in its report in order to address the dire situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;

Welcomes the establishment by the Office of the High Commissioner of a field-based structure in Seoul to strengthen the monitoring and documentation of the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to ensure accountability, to provide the Special Rapporteur with increased support, to enhance the engagement and capacity-building of the Governments of all States concerned, civil society and other stakeholders, and to maintain the visibility of the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including through sustained communications, advocacy and outreach initiatives;

Also welcomes the report of the High Commissioner on the role and achievements of the Office with regard to the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session, and invites the High Commissioner to provide regular updates on the issue to the Council;

Calls upon all States to undertake to ensure that the field-based structure of the Office of the High Commissioner can function with independence, that it has sufficient resources and that it is not subjected to any reprisals or threats;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to report on its follow-up efforts in the regular annual report of the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;

Requests the Special Rapporteur to submit regular reports to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly on the implementation of his or her mandate, including on the follow-up efforts made in the implementation of the recommendations of the commission of inquiry;

Also requests the Special Rapporteur to include the report of the group of independent experts on accountability as an annex to his/her report to the Council at its thirty-fourth session;

Acknowledges that the Special Rapporteur held a dialogue with the representatives of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in New York on 27 October 2014, and urges the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, through continuous dialogues, to invite and to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur, to give the Special Rapporteur and supporting staff unrestricted access to visit the country, and to provide them with all information necessary to enable them to fulfil such a mandate, and also to promote technical cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner;

Encourages the United Nations system, including its specialized agencies, States, regional intergovernmental organizations, interested institutions, independent experts and non-governmental organizations to develop constructive dialogue and cooperation with special procedure mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur, and the field-based structure of the Office of the High Commissioner;

Encourages all States, the United Nations Secretariat, including relevant specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations and forums, civil society organizations, foundations and engaged business enterprises and other stakeholders towards which the commission of inquiry has directed recommendations to take forward those recommendations;

Encourages all States that have relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to use their influence to encourage it to take immediate steps to end all human rights violations, including by closing political prison camps and undertaking profound institutional reforms;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the High Commissioner with regard to the field-based structure with all the assistance and adequate staffing necessary to carry out the mandate effectively, and to ensure that the mandate holder receives the support of the Office of the High Commissioner;

Decides to transmit all reports of the Special Rapporteur to all relevant bodies of the United Nations and to the Secretary-General for appropriate action.

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