A Human Rights-based Approach to the SDGs in the DPRK: Focusing on vulnerable groups and calling for collective efforts in times of COVID-19
The report revealed the myriad ways that vulnerable groups in the DPRK, particularly persons with disabilities, women and children, experience daily exploitation and abuse. Critically, the report found that these human rights violations occur in spite of the fact that the DPRK government claims to have legal frameworks in place to protect the rights of these groups. Yet, for the citizens of the DPRK, having such laws that are not enforced is the same as not having the laws at all. Even worse, many of the violations described in the report, such as the exploitation of children as farm and construction laborers, occur as a direct result of the DPRKs policies to advance its rural and overall economic development. Without meaningful protections for human rights at the heart of development policies, such abuse is inevitable.
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