North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) remains one of the most repressive countries in the world. A 2014 United Nations Commission of Inquiry report found that the government committed systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations that constitute crimes against humanity. Ruled by third-generation totalitarian leader Kim Jong Un, the government maintains fearful obedience by using arbitrary detention and imprisonment, torture, executions, enforced disappearances, and forced labor. It systematically denies basic liberties, including freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion. It bans independent media, civil society organizations, and trade unions. Since 2020, under the pretext of protecting against the spread of Covid-19, the North Korean government has imposed extreme and unnecessary measures to close its borders and tightly restrict domestic travel, with strict controls on the distribution of food and other products within the country.
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Asia
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Human Rights Council
April 23, 2024
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United Nations
April 8, 2024
Videos
Videos-
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October 19, 2020
“Worth Less Than an Animal”
Abuses and Due Process Violations in Pretrial Detention in North Korea
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News
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April 9, 2024
Joint Submission to the Universal Periodic Review of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
47th Session of the UN Universal Periodic Review
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March 18, 2024
Statement at Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
55th session of the UN Human Rights Council
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March 14, 2024
North Korea: States Should Support the Resolution on the Human Rights Situation in North Korea at the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Open Letter to Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council
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March 7, 2024
North Korea: Sealing China Border Worsens Crisis
Isolationist Policies Exacerbate Impact of UN Sanctions, Covid-19 Pandemic
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February 14, 2024
Letter to South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul
Re: Republic of Korea’s Foreign Policy and Human Rights
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January 11, 2024
North Korea: Covid-19 Still Used to Justify Repression
Heightened Oppression Worsens Humanitarian Crisis
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October 31, 2023
North Korea’s Campaign was No ‘Paradise on Earth’
Japan High Court Finds Pyongyang Lured People to Life of Hardship
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October 12, 2023
China Forcibly Returns More than 500 to North Korea
Returnees, Mostly Women, Face Torture, Sexual Abuse, Forced Labor
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September 21, 2023
Open Joint Letter to President Xi Jinping
Re: China’s Forcible Repatriation of North Korean Refugees