UN committee requests North Korea provide explanation on human rights violations

A woman wearing traditional dress and holding a North Korean flag watches a performance celebrating the 89th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, a precursor to the Korean People's Army, in Changjon Street in Pyongyang, April 25. A United Nations committee called on North Korea to provide an explanation on reported cases of human rights violations and to report any progress. AFP-Yonhap

A U.N. committee called on North Korea to provide an explanation on reported cases of human rights violations and to report any progress, its website showed Thursday.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee (HRC) last week urged the North to provide information on whether it has made progress on several human rights issues, including torture and violence against women.

The committee asked the North to specify the measures it has taken to ensure that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a multilateral U.N. treaty, takes precedence over the North's domestic law in practice.

It also requested Pyongyang to provide an explanation to reports that it issued "shoot to kill" orders as part of efforts to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country, and whether or not the shootings resulted in any deaths or injuries.

Countries that have ratified the ICCPR are obliged to report on how the rights are being implemented, initially one year after signing the covenant and whenever upon request, which is usually every four years. (Yonhap)