A report released by the UN Tuesday revealed North Korean women undergo forced labor, sexual violence, and forced abortion and infanticide in the country’s detention centers.
The report acknowledges that “over seventy years since its establishment, [North Korea] remains a closed society and leaving the country without official permission is a crime under domestic law.” However, women who manage to escape and then forcibly return or fail to flee, face extraneous inhumane punishments.
The atrocities, outlined by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), indicate serious human rights violations under the country’s commitment to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
This is not new.
In 2014, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conducted research that found the country’s abusive treatment to be widespread, systematic, and constituted a crime against humanity.
The newest report uncovers the extent of malnutrition, beatings, unsanitary conditions, and overcrowded conditions, with some women saying 20 women were detained in 15 square-meter cells (161 square-feet).
Sinister mistreatment within pre-trial detention centers, holding centers, short-term labor camps, and regular prisons indicate an ongoing issue in North Korea.❑
