Mr President,
Sweden aligns herself with the statement made by the Czech Republic on behalf of the European Union.
Sweden thanks the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, and commends him for his report. We are especially impressed by his work considering the fact that Mr. Muntarbhorn has not been granted access to the DPRK.
We continue to be appalled by the pervasive, widespread and systematic violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in the DPRK. We second your expressed opinion in the report that the current policy of “military first” needs to be replaced by a policy of “people first”.
Among the many things that caused alarm in your report is the acute situation as regards the right to food and other basic necessities. Reports that the DPRK is moving to prohibit or restrict economic activities such as small-patch farming and trading, which are necessary for the survival of large parts of the population, give cause for serious concern, and are likely to aggravate an already desperate situation. The plight of the vulnerable groups, among them children under 5 years of age, exhibit a lack of respect for children’s rights. What are, in your view, the most urgent measures that should be taken by the DPRK and by the international community to ensure that the DPRK respects the basic rights to life and the right to food of its citizens?
In light of the upcoming treatment of the DPRK by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Universal Periodic Review later this year, what is in your view the most pertinent questions to be addressed in these fora?
Sweden is horrified by the reports harsh punishments of those who seek asylum abroad and who are sent back to the country, as well as by reports of widespread torture and the use of public executions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. What does it signify that the DPRK government feel the need to revert to such inhuman treatment of its citizens
Thank you, Mr President