An Overview of the UN Special Rapporteur's Role and Mandate

On Tuesday, October 26, 2021, The Honorable Tomás Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, spoke to an audience of 40 attendees at the DACOR Bacon House.

Mr. Quintana provided an overview of his role and mandate, as well as his assessment of the current human rights situation in North Korea. The discussion was moderated by Greg Scarlatoiu, HRNK Executive Director.

Mr. Quintana was appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by the UN Human Rights Council in 2016.

Mr. Ojea Quintana is a lawyer from Argentina working in the field of criminal law, human rights and public interest, representing NGOs and other groups in different cases, including child abduction by the military regime, sexual abuses by members of the church, and business criminal liability for human rights abuses. He is currently the attorney of a universal jurisdiction case on the abuses against Rohingyas.

He served as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar from 2008 to 2014, and previously as Consultant for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bolivia. He also worked as a lawyer at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (OAS). He is a consultant for the Parliament of Argentina, and has worked as an adviser to government agencies on human rights and security issues.