A decade after a landmark U.N. report concluded North Korea committed crimes against humanity, a U.N. official investigating rights in the isolated state told Reuters many abuses continue, exacerbated by COVID-era controls that have yet to be lifted.

Pyongyang

Ten years after a United Nations report concluded that North Korea committed crimes against humanity, a UN official has stated that many human rights abuses continue in the country. COVID-era restrictions, which remain in place, have reportedly worsened the situation, with credible reports of hunger and continued use of the death penalty. 

James Heenan, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, noted that his team has interviewed over 300 recent North Korean escapees, some of whom will soon speak publicly. Meanwhile, satellite imagery indicates renovations at a key prison camp near the Chinese border, suggesting ongoing efforts to strengthen control over prisoners. North Korea has previously denied such abuses and accused the UN of politicizing human rights issues.

UN: Rights abuses continue in North Korea a decade after probe

It's been 10 years since a United Nations report concluded that North Korea committed crimes against humanity. But this week, a UN official told Reuters that many abuses continue. And things have gotten worse because COVID-era restrictions are still in place. James Heenan, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul, told Reuters that while this year's report is being finalized, the past decade has seen North Korea engage more internationally. One thing that surprises me was the use of the death penalty and continued use of executions. Another was the hunger situation. The fact that again during COVID, it's better now, but during the depths of COVID, we saw not just hunger, but we had credible reports of salvation. North Korea's embassy in London did not answer phone calls seeking comment. In the past, the government has denied abuses and accused the UN and other countries of using human rights as a political weapon. Heenan said his team interviewed over 300 recent North Korean escapees, some of whom will speak publicly for the first time next week, as part of an effort to put a human face on the UN findings. Heenan says funding cuts for international aid and UN programs around the world is threatening the support available for North Korean refugees, and that human rights has traditionally been a volatile subject for foreign governments trying to engage with the nuclear-armed state. But there's no point self-censoring on human rights because no one, how shall I say this nicely, no one's fooled. No one doesn't realize these issues are there. On Wednesday, SI Analytics, a Seoul-based satellite imagery firm, released a report showing North Korea is renovating a key prison camp near the border with China. While this could be in response to international criticism, the firm notes that it is simultaneously strengthening physical control over prisoners as it improves the facility.

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