A/RES/60/173 GA

United Nations A/RES/60/173 General Assembly Distr.: General 14 March 2006 Sixtieth session Agenda item 71 (c) 05-49798 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 16 December 2005 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/60/509/Add.3 and Corr.1)] 60/173. Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea The General Assembly, Reaffirming that States Members of the United Nations have an obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to fulfil the obligations that they have undertaken under the various international instruments, Mindful that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,1 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,1 the Convention on the Rights of the Child2 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,3 Recalling Commission on Human Rights resolutions 2003/10 of 16 April 2003,4 2004/13 of 15 April 20045 and 2005/11 of 14 April 2005,6 Recalling in particular that, in its resolution 2005/11, the Commission on Human Rights urged the General Assembly to take up the question of the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea if the Government did not extend cooperation to the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and if no improvement of the situation of human rights in the country was observed, Taking note of the report of the Special Rapporteur,7 _______________ 1 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 3 Ibid., vol. 1249, No. 20378. 4 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2003, Supplement No. 3 (E/2003/23), chap. II, sect. A. 5 Ibid., 2004, Supplement No. 3 (E/2004/23), chap. II, sect. A. 6 Ibid., 2005, Supplement No. 3 and corrigendum (E/2005/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A. 7 See A/60/306. A/RES/60/173 2 1. Expresses its serious concern at: (a) The refusal of the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to recognize the mandate of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or to extend cooperation to him; (b) Continuing reports of systemic, widespread and grave violations of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including: (i) Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, public executions, extrajudicial and arbitrary detention, the absence of due process and the rule of law, the imposition of the death penalty for political reasons, the existence of a large number of prison camps and the extensive use of forced labour; (ii) Sanctions imposed on citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who have been repatriated from abroad, such as treating their departure as treason, leading to punishments of internment, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or the death penalty; (iii) All-pervasive and severe restrictions on the freedoms of thought, conscience, religion, opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and on equal access to information and limitations imposed on every person who wishes to move freely within the country and travel abroad; (iv) Continuing violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women, in particular the trafficking of women for the purpose of prostitution or forced marriage, forced abortions, and infanticide of children of repatriated mothers, including in police detention centres and camps; (v) Unresolved questions relating to the abduction of foreigners in the form of an enforced disappearance; 2. Expresses its concern that the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has not engaged in technical cooperation activities with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and her Office, despite efforts by the High Commissioner to engage in a dialogue with the authorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in this regard; 3. Expresses its deep concern at the precarious humanitarian situation in the country, in particular the prevalence of infant malnutrition, which still affects the physical and mental development of a significant proportion of children; 4. Urges the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in this regard, to ensure that humanitarian organizations, including non-governmental organizations and United Nations organizations, in particular the World Food Programme, have full, free, safe and unimpeded access to all parts of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea so that they may ensure that humanitarian assistance is delivered impartially on the basis of need in accordance with humanitarian principles, this concern having been aggravated by the announcement by the authorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of their intention not to accept humanitarian assistance from January 2006; A/RES/60/173 3 5. Also urges the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respect fully all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, in this regard, to implement fully the measures set out in the above-mentioned resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights, in particular full cooperation with the Special Rapporteur. 64th plenary meeting 16 December 2005

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