Lively market activities (jangmadang) 15 Figure II-2 Changes in child vaccination rates after covid 35 Figure II-3 A child from North Korea carries another child. This report focuses on the human rights situation of vulnerable groups in North Korea under Kim Jong Un. In addition, Covid-19 is expected to hit the North Korean economy hard.
However, North Korean authorities decided to close their borders during the pandemic and refused help from the outside world. The country's Voluntary National Review (VNR) demonstrates this phenomenon, and at least some such changes have been confirmed through North Korean defectors. Based on this, the current report examines the human rights situation faced by vulnerable North Koreans during the Kim Jong Un era, including the Covid-19 period.
The report first analyzes changes to North Korea's human rights-related laws and institutions since 2012. Since 2020, the border has been closed due to Covid-19, making it difficult to directly investigate how North Korea's response to the pandemic has affected people on the ground.
The Human Rights of Vulnerable People under Kim Jong Un
Do Gyeong-ok, 2016, The Actual Status of Women's and Children's Rights in North Korea (Seoul: Korea Institute for National Unification), p. 2. North Korean defectors in particular claim that the younger generation is increasingly aware of the value of gender equality and that domestic violence is decreasing. The closure of North Korea's border following the outbreak of Covid-19 will also have a detrimental impact on the country's economy, resulting in lower female participation in economic activities.
The increasing participation of women in economic activities and men taking on a larger share of household chores also seems to have led to changes in the mindset of the older generation. At the same time, another former resident of the same area, also in her 50s, said Kim Jong Un issued an order in 2019 requiring the widespread use of female officials. The growing importance of women in official and political life is still largely visible in the middle and lower parts of the country.
According to the North Korean constitution, marriage and the family are protected by the state (Article 78), and all forms of domestic violence are prohibited under the Women's Rights Guarantee Act (Article 46, paragraph 1). One of the worst violations of women's human rights committed by the North Korean authorities is the practice of involuntary termination of pregnancy during the process of forced repatriation, as well as the inhumane treatment of the investigative process. One of the most important indicators related to maternal health is the maternal mortality rate.
North Korea ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 21 September 1990, and it entered into force a month later. DPRK, "Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Voluntary National Review of the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda," United Nations, June 2021, p. In particular, North Korea claims to be working towards improving quality education for children with disabilities, such as expanding educational facilities for the disabled and expansion of IT infrastructure through its implementation report of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (hereafter CRPD).
In addition, there are provisions for the protection of the disabled within the Social Insurance Act, the Socialist Labor Act and the Social Security Act. The Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled (KFPD) works to uphold the rights and interests of the disabled. That said, there are also testimonies that claim that the overall perception of the disabled and honored veterans has changed in the Kim Jong Un era.41).
Another case of violation of freedom of residence is the restriction of the place of residence of persons with disabilities. First, in accordance with Article 49 of the Protection of Persons with Disabilities Act (2013), the North Korean authorities declared June 18 as the “Day of Persons with Disabilities” in 2011 and organize festive events every year. 42) Also since 2010, North Korea has the. There were also testimonies reporting that the general perception of disabled and honored veterans has recently changed in the DPRK.
It can be evaluated positively as part of the measures to improve accessibility for people with disabilities in North Korea.
The Impact of Covid-19 on the Rights of the Vulnerable
Conversely, if the unofficial sector shrinks, this could hinder further progress on women's human rights. For example, Covid-19 has had a negative impact on economies around the world, and in North Korea it appears to have had such a negative impact that Covid has been dubbed 'the real sanctions'. Surveys clearly show that large parts of the North Korean diet, including soybean oil, sugar and wheat flour, have all increased in price, sometimes as much as fivefold.
In other words, Covid-19 has resulted in a massive increase in unemployment within the informal sector, and this has reduced the scope of women's economic activities. Men, who had previously been able to pay '8.3 wages' instead of attending their workplaces (so that they could engage in the informal sector) have been forced to return to their workplaces.48 ). What stands out is that the decline of women's economic activities is directly related to the decline of children's rights.
Goods produced as part of the movement were not scheduled goods under the state plan, but were produced within state institutions, factories, cooperatives, household and side work units using spare materials, waste products and other by-products. Workers pay their workplace for the right not to go to work and use the time they are given to engage in economic activities within the formal sector. Where women face inequality in child-rearing responsibilities, Covid-19 as an economic and public health emergency can be dangerous to both women's and children's rights.
Additionally, research shows that vaccination rates have improved in North Korea to prevent disease, but vaccination of infants and toddlers has not been smooth sailing due to the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. The international community has expressed concern over how North Korea's borders were unilaterally closed during the coronavirus pandemic, preventing even emergency medicine for the vulnerable from entering the country. In terms of food, although the situation is not the worst, it has been found that a large number of North Korean children are still suffering from malnutrition.
In particular, the Covid-19 blockade and North Korea's rejection of humanitarian aid by the international community are likely to cause food instability and disrupt food supply and demand in the DPRK. The Covid-19 variable has therefore hit vulnerable groups, including women, children and the disabled, more. Of course, this is not a situation unique to North Korea, but the country's fragile political economy could exacerbate the situation.
Conclusion
The military and areas around military bases suffer from frequent incidents of sexual violence and prostitution has also increased. The problem is that North Korea is not structurally conducive to legal and institutional protection against sexual violence or effective punishment. The lack of understanding among men about contraception forces women to take responsibility for this issue and creates a vicious circle for women's health.
This is another area where proper sex education is lacking and social taboos surrounding the issue of sex block improvements in the situation. At the same time, when North Korean women are forcibly repatriated to the North after escaping, they routinely face forced abortions and other inhumane conditions while being interrogated. Certainly, in the era of Kim Jong Un, some aspects of women's rights have improved.
During the famine of the 1990s, women were forced to become breadwinners and take responsibility for their households instead of men. This increased the involvement of women in economic life and in some ways raised their status, not only in the family, but also socially and politically. During the era of Kim Jong Un, women also became visible in the official and political sphere.
In particular, as seen above, most of the changes in the position of women in the political world have occurred at the middle and lower levels, with the number of women in positions at the very top of the elite not only small, but declining. This means that there have been legal and institutional changes during the Kim Jong Un era that have strengthened women's rights, but there are still many restrictions.
