In his statement to the Third Committee of the General Assembly in November 2012, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea called on Member States and the international community to undertake a comprehensive review of the many reports on the human rights situation in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea submitted under his mandate and by the Secretary-General over the past eight years to assess the underlying patterns and trends, and consider setting up a more detailed mechanism of inquiry. The present report provides a comprehensive review of United Nations documentation and resolutions on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea since 2004.

 

In addition to a total of 22 reports by the Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea since 2004, and 16 resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and its subsidiary organs, the report seeks to take stock of the documentation in connection to the Universal Periodic Review, the concluding observations of the human rights treaty bodies, and the opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in cases relating to the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea in that time. The review has identified nine underlying patterns of violations that these various documents have focused on. A more detailed analysis of these patterns is presented in annex I to the report.

 

The report concludes with recommendations for the international community, including suggestions on some possible next steps and areas of focus for United Nations action on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea. The report calls for the establishment of an inquiry mechanism with adequate resources to investigate and document grave, systematic and widespread violations of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea and to report to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, to examine the issue of accountability for such violations as well as crimes against humanity.