Summary

The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the General Assembly the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Marzuki Darusman, in accordance with Assembly resolution 69/188.

The report provides an assessment of the latest developments on a number of thematic areas that were pointed out by the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as requiring particular attention owing to the serious nature of the violations committed in those areas, namely summary executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, discrimination and trafficking. Whereas in the report it is noted that a few positive developments have taken place in the context of the momentum that was created by the commission of inquiry, grave violations continue to be committed on a large scale and particularly affect the most vulnerable groups, including prisoners, migrant workers and persons with disabilities. In the report the international community is called upon to step up efforts to protect the population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and hold the Government accountable for those gross violations. The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is also urged to take immediate and long-term actions to redress the situation and abide by its international human rights obligations.