Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of human rights in North Korea; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

We remain deeply concerned by the UN Commission of Inquiry’s findings of widespread and systematic state sanctioned human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We have seen no evidence to suggest the human rights situation has improved since the Commission published its report in February 2014.

On 22 December, following a request by the UK and others, the UN Security Council formally recognised the human rights situation in the DPRK as a potential threat to international peace and security and held a first discussion of this new agenda item. During this meeting the UK repeated its serious concern at the human rights situation in the DPRK and its belief that if the DPRK will not hold human rights violators to account, then the international community must be ready to do so.

We also reitarated that the DPRK authorities bear primary responsibility for protecting human rights in DPRK and expressed our regret that the DPRK had withdrawn the offers of engagement made ahead of the UN General Assembly Third Committee resolution in November 2014.