Photo : YONHAP News
The United Nations rapporteur on North Korea’s human rights said Pyongyang is reinforcing control of its people after lifting restrictions on fundamental freedoms that were introduced in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.
According to Voice of America(VOA), Elizabeth Salmon made such assessments of worsened human rights situation inside the communist regime in a report submitted to the 79th UN General Assembly.
Salmon said North Korean people’s right to freedom of movement, right to work, right to food, and right to freedom of expression, including access to information, are being restricted.
She said the regime has significantly repressed private commercial activities as “anti-social behavior,” which are means of making a living for many people, while reinstating public executions and trials, bolstering control over its people through fear.
The rapporteur said Pyongyang holds several obligations related to accountability regarding criminal prosecution, institutional reforms, truth-seeking, and reparations for human rights violations committed within its jurisdiction.