A/ HRC/46/51 of human rights including the use of torture, public execution, prison camps, and restrictions on the freedom of expression among others. 12. In 2004, the Commission on Human Rights established the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to establish direct contact with the Government and people and to investigate and report on the human rights situation in the country. This mandate has been renewed annually since its establishment. In 2005, the General Assembly adopted resolution 60/173 expressing its serious concern at continuing reports of systemic, widespread and grave violations of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the refusal of the Government to recognize the mandate of the Special Rapporteur or to extend cooperation to him. Since then, the General Assembly has adopted a resolution annually on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 13. Concerned about the continuing serious human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Human Rights Council in 2013 established a commission of inquiry with a mandate to “investigate the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights” in the country, “with a view to ensuring full accountability, in particular for violations which may amount to crimes against humanity”.11 In its landmark report of 2014,12 the commission of inquiry documented serious human rights violations, some of which amount amounting to crimes against humanity. The commission made several recommendations to pursue justice and accountability, including the referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court or the establishment of an ad-hoc international tribunal13 by the Security Council under Chapter VII or by the General Assembly using its residual powers and universal jurisdiction. It also recommended that OHCHR establish a field-based structure to “build on the collection of evidence and documentation work of the commission, and further expand its database” to help ensure accountability for human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in particular where such violations amount to crimes against humanity.14 In 2016, the Human Rights Council requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to appoint a group of independent experts to explore appropriate approaches to seek accountability for human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea15. 14. In 2014 the UN Security Council held its first Arria formula meeting on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. From 2015 to 2017, the Council held annual discussions on the situation. After an impasse of two years, in December 2020, following an informal consultation, eight members of the Security Council issued a joint statement on the situation, reemphasizing the importance of a discussion of this topic in the Security Council and noting that human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea pose an imminent threat to international peace and security.16 B. Crimes against humanity. 15. In its 2014 report, the commission of inquiry concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity had been committed and continued to be committed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It highlighted that the gravity, scale and nature of those violations revealed a State that did not have any parallel in the contemporary world. The crimes against humanity listed by the commission included extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other forms of sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, enforced disappearances and the inhumane act of knowingly 11 12 13 14 15 16 6 https://documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/LTD/G13/120/61/PDF/G1312061.pdf?OpenElement. A/HRC/25/63. Ibid., para. 87. Ibid., Para. 94(c). A/HRC/RES/31/18, A/HRC/34/66/Add.1. Statement by Germany, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, the UK, the USA and Japan on the Human Rights Situation in DPRK, December 11 - Federal Foreign Office (diplo.de).