Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations

On March 16, Ambassador Hwang Joonkook attended a CSW67 (the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women) parallel event hosted by the North Korea Freedom Coalition (chairman: Suzanne Scholte) on human rights in North Korea. In his congratulatory remarks Amb. Hwang described the efforts made by the Government of the Republic of Korea to bring the international community’s attention to the DPRK’s human rights situation, which has continued to worsen. He also shed light on the public meetings held in the UN Security Council to address the DPRK human rights issues from 2014, when the COI report was released, to 2017, given that the DPRK human rights issue is inseparable from to its nuclear issue and is a threat to international peace.

Amb. Hwang also emphasized that the event will contribute to building momentum for a breakthrough on the human rights situation in the DPRK ahead of the 10th anniversary of the COI report next year. He also expressed special gratitude to the four North Korean defectors who shared their experience on human rights violations and abuses by the DPRK, calling for the international community to pay attention to the issue.