UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana, in his presentation at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Monday urged the international community to revive engagement with North Korea because “leaving North Korea in isolation and maintaining the status quo offers no solutions to help address the dire human rights situation there.” 

Ojea Quintana reported that North Korea’s full-scale border shutdown and travel restrictions, in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, have further isolated North Koreans and worsened the oppressive control exercised by the state over their lives. The state has issued shoot-on-sight orders at the borders to punish defectors and enacted an “anti-reactionary thought” law that imposes the death penalty for accessing foreign content.

He also underlined the prevalence of Kwanliso or political prison camps notorious for gross human rights violations, which, according to Ojea Quintana, may amount to crimes against humanity. The survival of North Korea’s oppressive political regime is heavily dependent on these political prisons. In a press conference on Monday, Ojea Quintana underscored a 2014 UN investigation which revealed that upto 120,000 individuals are incarcerated in these camps and that prisoners are being used for forced labour in coal and other mines.

Ojea Quintana pointed out that North Koreans face acute food insecurity with nearly 40 percent of the population grappling with food shortages. This is exacerbated by the suspension of international trade owing to the closure of borders which can no longer be justified as a response COVID-19. “Segments of the population, especially vulnerable populations, may be facing hunger and starvation,” he added.

In his report on the situation in North Korea to the UNHRC, Ojea Quintana recommended long-term engagement with North Korea on issues of prison conditions and economic and social rights. “Authorities in North Korea need to know they have to respond sooner or later for crimes being committed,” he said. He urged North Korea to recognise his mandate as a special rapporteur and facilitate his visit to the country. Ojea Quintana also noted that North Korea must also allow the return of UN agencies and international organisations to aid in humanitarian and development activities. He further highlighted a need to ensure that North Koreans maintain a right to their health through sufficient COVID-19 vaccinations.

At the session, UN Assistant Secretary General Ilze Brands Kehris implored the international community to acknowledge the existence of serious human rights violations in North Korea and to pursue “accountability avenues, whether through referral to the International Criminal Court, or the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal or . . . complementary approaches at national levels, including criminal proceedings in accordance with international standards under accepted principles of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, and relevant civil litigation.”