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

A/RES/62/167No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 70cHuman rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives, published in 2008.

What else is in this group?

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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Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2008.

2008A/63/332Situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea report of the Secretary-General

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What does this mandate say?

20 operative paragraphs

Expresses its very serious concern at:

The continued refusal of the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to recognize the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or to extend cooperation to him;

The persistence of continuing reports of systematic, widespread and grave violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including:

Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including inhuman conditions of detention, public executions, extrajudicial and arbitrary detention; the absence of due process and the rule of law, including fair trial guarantees and an independent judiciary; the imposition of the death penalty for political and religious reasons; and the existence of a large number of prison camps and the extensive use of forced labour;

The situation of refugees and asylum-seekers expelled or returned to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and sanctions imposed on citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who have been repatriated from abroad, leading to punishments of internment, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or the death penalty, and in this regard urges all States to ensure respect for the fundamental principle of non-refoulement and to treat those who seek refuge humanely;

iii

All-pervasive and severe restrictions on the freedoms of thought, conscience, religion, opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and on equal access to information, by such means as the persecution of individuals exercising their freedom of opinion and expression, and their families;

Limitations imposed on every person who wishes to move freely within the country and travel abroad, including the punishment of those who leave or try to leave the country without permission, or their families;

The violations of economic, social and cultural rights, which have led to severe malnutrition, widespread health problems and other hardship for the population in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, inter alia, women, children and the elderly;

Continuing violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, in particular the trafficking of women for the purpose of prostitution or forced marriage and the subjection of women to human smuggling, forced abortions, gender-based discrimination and violence;

vii

Continuing reports of violations of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities, especially on the use of collective camps and of coercive measures that target the rights of persons with disabilities to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children;

viii

Violations of workers’ rights, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, the right to strike as defined by the obligations of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,1 and the prohibition of the economic exploitation of children and of any harmful or hazardous work of children as defined by the obligations of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea under the Convention on the Rights of the Child;2

Reiterates its very serious concern at unresolved questions of international concern relating to the abduction of foreigners in the form of enforced disappearance, which violates the human rights of the nationals of other sovereign countries, and in this regard strongly calls upon the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea urgently to resolve these questions, including through existing channels, in a transparent manner, including by ensuring the immediate return of abductees;

Notes the prompt reaction of the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the latest floods and the openness shown in seeking outside assistance, and expresses its very deep concern at the precarious humanitarian situation in the country, compounded by the misallocation of resources away from the satisfaction of basic needs and by frequent natural disasters, in particular the prevalence of maternal malnutrition and of infant malnutrition, which, despite recent progress, continues to affect the physical and mental development of a significant proportion of children, and urges the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in this regard, to take preventive and remedial action, to facilitate access to humanitarian aid and measures to allow humanitarian agencies to secure its impartial delivery to all parts of the country on the basis of need in accordance with humanitarian principles, and to ensure food security, including through sustainable agriculture;

Strongly urges the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respect fully all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, in this regard:

To immediately put an end to the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights mentioned above, inter alia, by implementing fully the measures set out in the above-mentioned resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, and the recommendations addressed to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by the United Nations special procedures and treaty bodies;

To tackle the root causes leading to refugee outflows and criminalize those who exploit refugees by human smuggling, trafficking and extortion, while not criminalizing the victims;

To extend its full cooperation to the Special Rapporteur, including by granting him full, free and unimpeded access to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and to other United Nations human rights mechanisms;

To engage in technical cooperation activities in the field of human rights with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and her Office, as pursued by the High Commissioner in recent years, with a view to improving the situation of human rights in the country;

To extend to United Nations agencies and other humanitarian actors all access necessary to allow them to carry out their mandates;

Decides to continue its examination of the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at its sixty-third session, and to this end requests the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Special Rapporteur to continue to report his findings and recommendations.

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

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