UNHRC adopts final report on review of N. Korean human rights

▲ South Korean Ambassador to Geneva Yun Seong-deok (C) speaks during the U.N. Human Rights Council's universal periodic review of North Korea in Geneva, on Nov. 8, 2024, in this file photo provided by the South Korean Permanent Mission to Geneva. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

UN-NK human rights

UNHRC adopts final report on review of N. Korean human rights

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted Tuesday the final report of its regular review of North Korea's human rights situation, urging the reclusive regime to implement its recommendations to improve human rights conditions for its people.

The report on the universal periodic review (UPR) was adopted at the 58th session of the UNHRC in Geneva, about four months after Pyongyang underwent its fourth UPR in November last year for the current 2022-27 cycle, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The UPR is a mechanism established by the UNHRC in 2008 to conduct a periodic human rights review of all U.N. member states by their peers every 4.5 years.

At the session, South Korean Ambassador to Geneva Yun Seong-deok voiced regret that the North rejected nearly half of the 294 recommendations made by the member states, urging Pyongyang to accept and implement them.

Yun voiced deep concern over the negative impact of the North's militarization on human rights, calling for the immediate release of three detained South Korean missionaries and resolving issues related to abductees, detainees and prisoners of war "without delay."

Yun also expressed concern over the inhumane treatment of North Korean defectors who were forcibly repatriated and called for all member states to abide by the international principle of not forcing refugees back to countries where they face the risk of persecution, known as the principle of non-refoulement.

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