Report of Commission of Inquiry on Democratic People's Republic of Korea to go public on 17 February

GENEVA (11 February 2014) – The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will hold a press conference on Monday 17 February, at 14:00 Geneva time (CET), on the publication of its unprecedented report, annexes, and extensive supporting documentation on human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Two members of the three-person Commission*, Michael Kirby and Marzuki Darusman, will hold the press conference in Press Room III, in the Palais des Nations, Geneva. The event will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/ , and the report itself, its annexes, and the detailed findings on which it is based, will be posted on www.ohchr.org at 14:00 on 17 February.

The Commission of Inquiry was established 11 months ago, in March 2013, by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to “investigate the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea... with a view to ensuring full accountability, in particular where these violations may amount to crimes against humanity.” Among the violations investigated are those linked to the right to food, and to prison camps, torture and inhuman treatment, arbitrary detention, discrimination, freedom of expression, the right to life, freedom of movement, and enforced disappearances, including abductions of nationals of other States.

As part of its investigations, the Commission conducted public hearings with more than 80 victims and other witnesses in Seoul, Tokyo, London and Washington D.C. Excerpts of witness testimony and illustrative individual cases will feature in a 372-page document, which will be published alongside the report itself.

The Commission is scheduled to formally present its findings to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 17 March.
Members of the Commission of Inquiry

* Mr. Michael Kirby, a retired Australian judge, is chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The other two members of the Commission are Ms. Sonja Biserko, a Serbian human rights expert, and Mr. Marzuki Darusman, a senior Indonesian jurist who has also served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK since 2010.

More information about the Commission of Inquiry, including fuller biographies of the Commissioners, is available on a special webpage at:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/CommissionInquiryonHRinDPRK.aspx

Media Accreditation: Journalists need accreditation to cover events at the Palais des Nations, including the 17 February press conference. To obtain accreditation from the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), please send an email to accreditation-media@unog.ch or call: +41 22 917 4359 / Fax: +41 22 917 0165. For information on accreditation, see: http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument . Information for broadcasters can be obtained by sending a message to untv@unog.ch

For further information about the Commission of Inquiry, please contact:
Rolando Gómez: +41 22 917 9711, rgomez@ohchr.org ;
Cédric Sapey: +41 22 917 9695, csapey@ohchr.org ;
Rupert Colville: +41 22 917 9767, rcolville@ohchr.org;
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169, rshamdasani@ohchr.org
Cécile Pouilly: +41 22 917 9310, cpouilly@ohchr.org

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For use of the information media; not an official record