Thank you, Mr President.
The DPRK is one of the worst human rights violators in the world. In February 2014, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry exposed “systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations” that amounted to crimes against humanity. The report even suggested that the Security Council refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. That was the level of gravity of the violations found.
There are no indications that the situation in North Korea has improved. The complete closure of the country during the Covid-19 pandemic has even heightened concerns that more freedoms are restricted, surveillance and control over the population is increasing and treatment in detention, including the political prison camps, is worsening.
A recent Human Rights Watch report gives an account of former detainees describing systematic torture, dangerous and unhygienic conditions and unpaid forced labour. According to the report, the North Koreans describe living their lives in constant fear of being caught in a system where official procedures are irrelevant, guilt is presumed and the only way out is through bribes and connections. Female detainees often face sexual violence, including rape.
This is a country where no freedom of expression, association, or religion exist. Every aspect of daily life is subjected to central government control and any dissent can be punished with enslavement or even execution.
It has been argued that the Security Council should not get involved in the human rights issues of other countries. That such discussions are not within the mandate of the Council. We disagree. Without the extreme level of control over its people, without the terror of labour camps, arbitrary detention, torture, public executions, sexual- and gender-based violence, and without starving its people, the regime would not be able to hold on to control and power and develop its ballistic and nuclear program.
Further, the DPRK human rights violations do not affect just North Koreans nor stay within its borders. We are very concerned about the international abductions that have affected many Japanese and South Korean citizens. We strongly urge the DPRK to solve all issues related to this matter and immediately return all abductees to their families and countries. Several foreign nationals are detained in North Korea for extended periods, often for political reasons and without due process and fair trial standards. Hundreds of North Koreans flee every year to the Republic of Korea to escape the violations of their human rights, adding international dimension to this issue.
The DPRK human rights situation, hence, has wider international and regional implications. As the chair of the Commission of Inquiry, Michael Kirby has said: “A country which so grossly abuses the human rights of its people is inevitably an unstable danger to its neighbours, the region and the world.”
Estonia finds that the Council must, therefore, remain seized of the situation of North Korea in all its aspects, including human rights. It is important that the international community sent a clear message to DPRK regime that human rights violations and abuses must stop and those responsible held to account. We urge the DPRK to demonstrate respect for human rights, allow full, free and unimpeded access to human rights monitors, and cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the DPRK and other UN human rights mechanisms.