She noted that North Korea’s Federation for the Protection of the Disabled promotes the creation of associations for people with disabilities, including deaf and blind people, but said “there is still a long way to go” to realize their rights. In 2017, authorities allowed the UN special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, to tour the country. The law does not prohibit same-sex sexual activity, but the government maintains that the practice does not exist in North Korea. Although they have fewer opportunities in the formal sector, women are economically active outside the socialist system, exposing them to arbitrary state restrictions. Women have legal equality, but they face rigid discrimination in practice and are poorly represented in public employment and the military. All citizens are classified according to their family’s level of loyalty and proximity to the leadership under a semihereditary caste-like system known as songbun. The most prevalent form of discrimination is based on perceived political and ideological nonconformity rather than ethnicity. Despite these promises and the agreement with the United States, North Korea had not yet taken significant steps to eliminate its nuclear program by the end of the year. The third summit, held in Pyongyang in September, led to a commitment from North Korea to close a missile-test facility, as well as an agreement from both sides to end military drills along the Military Demarcation Line, among other provisions. Kim Jong-un and President Moon also met for three summits during the year to discuss preventing war between North and South Korea. In June 2018, Supreme Leader Kim met with US President Donald Trump for an historic summit in Singapore, leading to a vague agreement in which the North Korean government committed to “work towards” denuclearization of the Korean peninsula without prescribing concrete actions to achieve that end. North Korea’s nuclear program threatens the security of the entire Korean peninsula. Ignoring international objections, the Chinese government continues to return refugees and defectors to North Korea, where they are subject to torture, harsh imprisonment, or execution. Campaigns to send information into the country via USB and SD cards are common, though North Koreans’ consumption of either foreign radio broadcasts or these contraband devices is subject to severe punishment if detected by authorities.ĭocumented North Korean human rights violations include widespread torture, public executions, forced labor by detainees, and death sentences for political offenses. Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, BBC, and several South Korean outlets broadcast shortwave and medium-wave Korean-language radio programming into North Korea. Select foreign media are often invited into the country to cover key political events and holidays, although authorities strictly manage their visits. However, access is still tightly controlled for these organizations, and the government has been known to expel media crews in retaliation for their work. In recent years, several foreign news agencies have established bureau offices in Pyongyang. For example, television coverage of North Korea’s summits with the United States and South Korea in 2018 was carefully edited and quickly pulled from circulation, which, according to some analysts, reflected the government’s desire to avoid appearing too close to its long-standing adversaries. Televisions and radios are permanently fixed to state channels, and all publications and broadcasts are subject to strict supervision and censorship. Despite its diplomatic overtures, the government continued to rule with absolute authority throughout the year, tightly controlling access to information, suppressing all dissent, and heavily surveilling residents to maintain control over the population.Īll domestic media outlets are run by the state.Nevertheless, North Korea had not yet taken significant steps to eliminate its nuclear program by the end of the year. Kim also met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in three times in 2018, which led to a commitment from North Korea to close a missile-test facility, as well as an agreement from both sides to end military drills along the Military Demarcation Line.The summit produced a vague agreement in which the North Korean government committed to “work towards” denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, but did not prescribe any concrete actions to achieve that end. After a year of tense exchanges with the United States over North Korea’s nuclear program, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un met with US President Donald Trump in June for an historic summit in Singapore.Emergency Assistance and Thematic Programs.Afghanistan Human Rights Coordination Mechanism.Government Accountability & Transparency.
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