HRC43: Oral statement during ID with Special Rapporteur on the DPRK

Agenda Item 4: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Organisation: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker: Claire Denman

Thank you Madame President,

CSW welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur on the DPRK and thanks the Rapporteur for his continued work.

The situation for freedom of religion or belief in the DPRK remains dire, and there have been no improvements over the past year. Any North Korean who expresses an opinion or a belief which differs from that of the authorities faces severe punishment.

In 2014 the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the DPRK estimated that between 80,000 and 120,000 people are detained in prison camps, where they endure dire living conditions and brutal torture. Many of the detainees are believed to be Christian.

North Koreans suspected of having contact with South Korean or other foreign missionaries in China, and those caught in possession of a Bible, have been known to be executed.

We call on the DPRK to fully comply with all of its international obligations to uphold and respect human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. We specifically call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those currently detained in prison camps, providing for their physical, mental and societal rehabilitation wherever necessary.

As the DPRK increases engagement with the international community, particularly the United States and the Republic of Korea, CSW is concerned that the situation of human rights in the DPRK has not been on the agenda of any such meetings.

We therefore call on all members of the international community to ensure that human rights concerns are raised in every bilateral and multilateral engagement with the DPRK.

CSW also remains concerned by the DPRK’s songbun system, under which the government categorises Christians as a hostile class. As a result, any North Korean found to believe and practise Christianity or to have witnessed Christian activities is persecuted severely.

We continue to call on the DPRK to abolish the songbun system immediately.

Madame President, we welcome the continued focus on the DPRK at the Human Rights Council and encourage the Council to ensure that such discussions continue separately from the question of nuclear non-proliferation on an annual basis until North Koreans are free to fully enjoy all of the human rights enshrined in the UDHR.

Thank you