Media advisories Special Procedures

New UN expert on human rights in DPRK to visit South Korea

23 August 2022

GENEVA (23 August 2022) – The new UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Elizabeth Salmón, will conduct her first official visit to the Republic of Korea from 29 August to 3 September.

During her visit, Salmón will meet South Korean Government officials, civil society organisations, victims and their families, as well as North Korean escapees, among others.

The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference on 2 September, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (local time) at Hotel President, 19F, Brahms Hall at 16 Euljiro, Junggu, Seoul. Access to the press conference is strictly limited to journalists. 

Salmón, who was appointed by the Human Rights Council and assumed her mandate on 1 August, will present her first report to the General Assembly in October.

ENDS

Ms. Elizabeth Salmón (Peru) is appointed as the first female Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK by the Human Rights Council on 1 August in 2022. Ms. Salmón is a Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She is also Executive Director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of the same university (IDEHPUCP). She holds a PhD in International Law from the University of Seville (Spain).

Professor Salmón was a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and a Consulting Expert of the Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace. She has acted as a consultant to the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defense of Peru, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). She also participates as a speaker in numerous seminars, conferences and events around the world and she is the author of several publications in Public International Law, International Human Rights Law, International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law and Transitional Justice.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organisation and serve in their individual capacity. 

UN Human Rights, country page: DPRK 

OHCHR Home | OHCHR Seoul 

For more information and media requests please contact: Ms. Madoka Saji (+82 10 4230 3523) or write to madoka.saji@un.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Renato de Souza (renato.rosariodesouza@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.

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