UN expert on human rights in North Korea visit to Japan

Japanese version

GENEVA/TOKYO (28 November 2019) - The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Tomás Ojea Quintana, will visit Japan from 2 to 4 December 2019.

During the visit the Special Rapporteur will exchange views on human rights issues in North Korea with Government officials, members of the Parliament, families of abduction victims, persons who went to North Korea as part of a resettlement programme between 1950s and 1984 and later returned to Japan,  and members of civil society and the academic community.

"It is very important for me to meet with relevant actors in Japan and to discuss what steps can be taken to improve the human rights situation in North Korea, particularly in the context of ongoing diplomatic talks," said the Special Rapporteur.

The Special Rapporteur will report his findings and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in March 2020.

ENDS

Mr. Tomás Ojea Quintana (Argentina) was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by the Human Rights Council in 2016. Mr. Ojea Quintana, a lawyer with extensive human rights experience, worked for the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, and represented the Argentinean NGO 'Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo' in cases concerning child abduction during the military regime. He is a former Head of OHCHR's human rights programme in Bolivia, and served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar from 2008 to 2014. His mandate has most recently been renewed by Human Rights Council resolution 40/20.

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 organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, country page: DPRK 

OHCHR Seoul Office 

For more information and media requests please contact:

Ms. Madoka Saji (+82 10-4230 3523) or write to msaji@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:

Mr Jeremy Laurence – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)  

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