Leaving no one behind: human rights of the vulnerable in DPRK

2024 was an important year for human rights. It marked the 45th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW), and the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC). CEDAW and CRC, along with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), are some of the notable international human rights instruments that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ratified in 2001 (CEDAW), 1990 (CRC) and 2016 (CRPD), respectively.

Despite such actions, the reality paints a very different picture. The human rights situation in DPRK is still dire. In particular, additional attention must be paid to vulnerable groups including, but not limited to, women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

In fact, numerous reports from civil society organizations, United Nations (UN) agencies and governments have continuously shed light on the human rights violations in DPRK. For instance, the 2014 UN report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK pointed out that discrimination was practiced based on gender, disability and age. Unfortunately, the situation persists, if not worsened with the pandemic, 10 years later. During the fourth cycle of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Period Review (UPR) of DPRK in 2024, information on various situations of human rights violations in DPRK was provided by different UN bodies and multiple stakeholders. As a result, the UN member states provided a total of 294 recommendations, among which DPRK noted 88 recommendations but will examine the remaining 206 in due time.

Unfortunately, out of the 88 recommendations noted, which technically means not accepted or not responded to, include recommendations on women’s and children’s rights. For instance, DPRK noted recommendations to abolishing all forms of child labor domestically and overseas, ending impunity for sexual and gender-based violence, ending all forms of violence against women and girls, ending human trafficking, and ending the practice of forced abortion for women repatriated to the DPRK while pregnant. Such recommendations are fundamental in protecting the basic human rights of not only women and children but the general population as the human rights and well-being of such vulnerable groups have direct and indirect implications on the human rights and well-being of other members of the household and community. It also remains to be seen whether DPRK will accept and follow through with the other 206 recommendations, but the track record of DPRK’s actions on previous UPR recommendations does not point to positive outcomes.

This is also a stark contrast to the picture that DPRK painted in its Voluntary National Review (VNR) report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) submitted to the UN in 2021. According to its VNR, DPRK states that it achieved gender equality long ago, increased investment for orphans and the elderly without caretakers and improved the nutrition of women and children while taking all possible measures to protect the human rights of vulnerable populations. However, DPRK’s response alone to the UPR recommendations throughout the four cycles certainly demonstrates a clear gap between its rhetoric and practice.

In this context, DPRK should seriously consider responding to international calls for cooperation. For instance, the international community has reached out to DPRK, as it has done with other countries in need of external assistance, to provide humanitarian assistance to protect people’s human rights and human dignity during and in the aftermath of humanitarian crises. If DPRK is genuine in protecting the human rights of its people as it states, it should seek ways for cooperation with the global community rather than closing its doors.