Statement by: Ms Yunei Kim, First Secretary, Australian Mission to the UN

As delivered

Thank you Chair.

Australia remains gravely concerned by the human rights situation in the DPRK.

It is disappointing that in the same year we mark ten years since the UN Commission of Inquiry on North Korean Human Rights found evidence of crimes against humanity, the overall human rights situation has only deteriorated.

We continue to call on the DPRK to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of North Koreans and hold to account those who commit violations and abuses.

We are deeply troubled by the Special Rapporteur’s report’s findings of enforced disappearances, torture, and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of forcibly repatriated individuals.

Australia calls on all actors to respect the principle of non-refoulement for people from the DPRK, and strongly urges the international community to speak up in the face of human rights violations, and to use every opportunity to call out these crimes and pursue pathways for accountability.

We support the recommendation of the Special Rapporteur’s report that victims and survivors must be at the centre of accountability efforts.

And we recognise that civil society partnerships often represent an important method of non-judicial accountability for those who have experienced human rights violations in the DPRK.

Australia asks: how can we improve reporting on the whereabouts, health, and human rights of those forcibly repatriated?

Thank you.