Women detained in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are subjected to multiple and serious human rights
violations by State security and police officials according to a UN human rights report published on Tuesday.
The report is based on 100 first-hand accounts by North Korean women who were detained in the DPRK from 2009 to 2019
after being forcibly returned. These women, who eventually managed to escape the DPRK, gave detailed interviews to UN
Human Rights staff.
Although traveling abroad is effectively prohibited in the DPRK, women embark on dangerous journeys looking for
life-saving sources of income or a new life abroad. They often fall into the hands of human traffickers, ending up as
cheap bonded labour or exploited sexually, and, at times, forced into marriage. Upon their return to the DPRK, these
women are detained by the Ministry of State Security or the Ministry of People’s Security. They are often sentenced to
imprisonment by State officials without a trial, or after proceedings that do not meet international norms and standards
for due process and a fair trial.
The report highlights that returnees, especially those who are labelled as “traitors”, including for attempting to reach
the Republic of Korea (ROK) or contacting Christian groups, are systematically punished and subjected to a myriad of
human rights violations.
“I was beaten with a club by a preliminary investigation officer and was kicked by the officer. The treatment was
particularly harsh at the Ministry of State Security. If one is found to have gone to a South Korean church while
staying in China, they are dead. I therefore tried hard not to reveal my life in China. I was beaten up as a result. I
was beaten to a level that my rib was broken. I still feel the pain,” a witness said.
Women recounted how they are detained in inhumane, overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, with little or no access to
daylight and fresh air. They are regularly subjected to torture and ill-treatment through beatings and personal or
collective punishment by prison officials, including for failing to complete the hard manual labour assigned to them.
“I did not sleep and worked because I did not want to be beaten. It was excruciating to a level that I even attempted to
commit suicide,” another woman said.
Detainees are subjected to forced nudity and invasive body searches, which according to international law may constitute
sexual violence and ill-treatment and, under certain circumstances, may amount to torture and rape. Some women reported
sexual violence by guards or seeing other detainees subjected to sexual violence.
According to several witnesses interviewed, in some cases prison officials sought to cause pregnant detainees to abort,
beating them or making them do hard labour.
Women detainees faced other types of gender-specific human rights violations such as denial of access to facilities and
materials required to meet women’s special hygiene needs, as well as being constantly watched by male guards.
All women reported being given insufficient food, leaving them malnourished and sometimes interrupting their menstrual
cycles.
“During my time in prison about five to six people died. Most of them died due to malnutrition,” said a witness included
in the report.
“It is heartbreaking to read these stories of women who fled their country looking to make ends meet, but who ended up
being punished. These are women who have often been the victims of exploitation and trafficking who should be taken care
of, not detained and subjected to further human rights violations,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle
Bachelet. “These women have a right to justice, truth and reparation.”
The report contains a set of recommendations for the DPRK Government to bring the detention system into line with
international norms and standards, including meeting the needs of female detainees, based on the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules. The UN Human Rights Office stands ready to work and engage with the authorities in a meaningful and constructive way.
The report also calls on other States to respect the principle of non-refoulement by not repatriating people to the DPRK where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would face a real
risk of serious human rights violations and other irreparable harm, and to support any accountability process to
investigate whether international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity, have been and continue to be committed
in the country.
“These accounts show once again the systemic nature of human rights violations in the DPRK, and the need to keep seeking
pathways to proper accountability for such crimes,” said the UN Human Rights Chief. “The UN Human Rights Office will
continue to gather evidence of this kind to support a process of criminal accountability, whenever and wherever
possible.”
To read the full report in English, click here