UN AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA

That this House notes the statement of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 22 January 2016; welcomes his call for the international community to further all efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country; concurs with his recommendation that, in addition to continuing political pressure to exhort the DPRK to improve human rights, it is also now imperative to pursue criminal responsibility of the DPRK leadership; further notes with regret his observation that not much has changed in the country almost two years after the report of the Commission of Inquiry; recalls that the second anniversary of the publication of the UN Commission of Inquiry will be on 22 February 2016; notes the resolution passed by the European Parliament on 21 January 2016 and the debate held in the House of Lords the same day; and urges the Government to pursue all avenues for addressing and improving the human rights situation in the DPRK and holding the perpetrators of crimes against humanity accountable.