HR/CRC/98/23
22 May 1998

The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon recommended that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea open itself further to the international community in order to make better use of outside aid and technical assistance.

In preliminary observations and recommendations issued following the consideration of a report from Pyongyang on measures taken to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee noted that the Government was open about its need for international technical assistance in many fields. That was very encouraging because it was an opportunity for the DPRK to have a partnership and dialogue with the outer world on the enhancement of the status of children, the panel observed.

The Committee took note of the difficulties caused by recent natural disasters and the division of the country, and their effects on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention. It recommended that thought be given to the possibility of adopting special laws to better reflect the those provisions.

The Committee will issue its final observations and recommendations at the end of this session on 5 June. It will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 25 May, to take up a report from Fiji.

Discussion

In response to questions raised this morning, the delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said the State provided nursery schools or kindergartens for orphans; those facilities offered accommodations, recreation and education. There were 14 nursery schools, caring for 1,845 children, and 7 kindergartens, caring for 1,945. Artistic, cultural and sports activities were organized for children. None the less, they had also been severely affected by the natural disasters of the past few years.

Children with disabilities were defined as those suffering from apparent disabilities, like the absence of a limb or blindness, as well as those with mental deficiencies, the delegation said. Available for all children in each province was a Children's Palace, which welcomed around 15,000 young people daily. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had been very cooperative in this field.

According to the delegation, nutritional indicators were showing a decline compared to the DPRK's standards. There was a shortage of vaccines and other medication, although efforts were being made to solve those problems and immunize all children. Every hospital had a doctor and nurses who carried out vaccinations and gave first aid. The DPRK did not suffer from pollution of the water, air or soil. There was no drug addiction in the country, nor was alcoholism widespread. As there were few problems stemming from drug or alcohol abuse, mental disease was not a big topic in the DPRK. Once a child with psychosis was discovered, he or she was ensured treatment. Suicide was not an issue in the DPRK and did not give rise to public discussions. Sometimes if a child was upset, felt isolated or discriminated against, he or she could attempt suicide, but such cases were few.

Committee experts asked about the criminal justice system. How were minors who had carried out severe crimes, like murder, punished? What was the number of juvenile delinquents in the country and how did police treat them?

Rehabilitation work was a kind of forced labour, an expert said. Under the present law, 17-year-olds, who were considered adults, could be sent to such institutions.

It was important to look at the issue of nutrition from a long-term perspective, another expert said. The positive approach of the State towards children was praised, as was the introduction of the baby-friendly principle in hospitals, which encouraged breastfeeding. An expert hoped the Government would reconsider putting children in institutions and move them to small family-like institutions or with foster families.


The delegation said persons up to the age of 18 who committed crimes were not imprisoned and instead were sentenced to undergo social education measures or community education. Community education involved attempts to change the minds of juvenile delinquents through persuasion and influence by positive example; the influence of elderly persons was sometimes used. There was no figure available on the number of juvenile delinquents. The purpose of the criminal system was not to inflict as much pain as the crime committed, but to rehabilitate offenders and reintegrate them into society. The sort of person who was not capable of being rehabilitated did not exist. Rehabilitation sentences through labour were for persons above 18; they meant the offender was sentenced to labour in a restricted area where he or she would 'feel their mistake and be reformed'. Such persons were allowed to meet with their families once a week.

It was not easy to create family environments for children, the delegation said. After the war, many children had been orphaned. The President had urged Korean families to take orphans under their care, but that was not enough to provide family environments for every orphan. That was why orphanage schools had to be established in 1951.

Sexual abuse was not a phenomenon which aroused public discussion, and trafficking in children, and in human beings in general, was unthinkable in the DPRK, the delegation said. There was no special monitoring system for foreign children living in the country.

Three successive years of natural disasters had caused shortages of food in the DPRK, the delegation said. The motto of the State had always been self-reliance, but it had had to ask for international assistance when its best efforts had fallen short of covering the needs of the people. International aid was important, but what was more important was that the State start helping itself. Destroyed irrigation facilities were being restored; lands covered by sand after the floods had been cleaned up; half the country was now using double crop systems, and nurseries and kindergartens were growing mushrooms successfully, especially during the cold and long winter. Efforts were undertaken by the whole nation to increase food production. Meanwhile, the Government had
increased the rice ration for children under four and for breastfeeding mothers. On the issue of divided families, the delegation said the State had been trying to alleviate the pain of 10 million
affected persons, facilitating free travel and exchange of letters and visits.

Preliminary Observations and Recommendations

In preliminary observations and recommendations, Committee experts thanked the delegation for the interesting, informative, open and constructive dialogue. The delegation was open about its need for international technical assistance in many fields and this was very encouraging because this was an opportunity for the DPRK to have a partnership and dialogue with the outer world on the enhancement of the status of children.

The Committee noted that the delegation said that certain issues were not social problems in the DPRK or subjects of social discussion. However, there were some fields where even if only one or a few children were victimized, then society had to find a way to help them.

The experts said they were impressed that the DPRK believed education was the best way to interact with children, including juvenile delinquents. This could serve as an example for other countries. It was hoped that corporal punishment within the family would be done away with and that some attitudes on this subject would change, as corporal punishment was not the proper way to deal with children.

The experts noted the Government's long-term plan to solve the problem of food for children, including the use of assistance from international organizations to assess the problems around the country. The water problem should be included, as it was also part of the situation created by natural disasters and had an impact on the health of children. It was also important that the baby-friendly hospital initiative be continued.

Committee experts said there remained gaps in the report of the DPRK and in the dialogue on issues like statistics. An expert said he was not satisfied with some of the responses concerning child labour, street children and the juvenile justice system. It was not very clear how the juvenile justice system was run and if there were gaps in legislation concerning juveniles.

The Committee took note of the existing difficulties caused by recent natural disasters and the division of the country, which impeded the extent of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention. It also took note of the DPRK's welcoming of technical assistance in areas like the analysis of data and improvement of the monitoring system. All international technical assistance could be helped by greater openness of the society to international organizations. Problems included the teaching of foreign languages at schools, which was important to help Korean children understand the international community. The integration of disabled children into the society needed to be improved. Thought should be given to the possibility of adopting special laws to better reflect the provisions of the Convention.

The delegation had said the State felt no need to adhere to some treaties because the problems the instruments addressed did not exist in the country. However, the Committee believed in the usefulness of participating in international conventions in all cases as a preventive measure and guarantee.