A/HRC/46/51 necessary, through referral to the International Criminal Court pursuant to article 13(b) of the Rome Statute.33 22. Following up on the recommendations of 2014 commission of inquiry report, both the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly have repeatedly encouraged the Security Council to take appropriate measures to ensure accountability including through referral of the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the International Criminal Court and sanctions targeting those who appear to be most responsible for human rights violations34. In the meantime, the people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have continued for decades to suffer or fear grave abuses from State institutions that are supposed to protect them. In the view of the Special Rapporteur, the Security Council should bear responsibility for its inaction against the continuation of crimes against humanity in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. A rationale based on human rights demands that the fight against abuses of such a scale, gravity and nature cannot take a back seat to national or geopolitical interests. Failing to take action may be legal, but it is not justifiable under the UN Charter.35 23. In contrast to the human rights situation, the measures implemented by the Security Council against the development of nuclear weapons by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea entail the most comprehensive and prohibitive regime of sanctions ever put in place. Maintenance of international peace and security is critical in the case of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and consensus at the Security Council has had positive effects to this end. However, the Special Rapporteur has argued repeatedly in previous reports that these comprehensive sanctions have affected the economic and social rights of the people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Grave violations of human rights also threaten peace and security, as do nuclear weapons. The Security Council should therefore take a holistic approach to addressing peace and security concerns, including through the referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court, rather than simply repeating sanctions concerning denuclearization. 24. In addressing the role of the Security Council in relation to the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, veto powers of the permanent members cannot be overlooked. A rationale that embraces universal human rights emanating from the UN Charter should guide the exercise of the veto power, in particular in respect of a possible referral to the International Criminal Court. The deteriorating human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea over decades urgently requires the permanent members of the Security Council to reach consensus to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. The Special Rapporteur believes that a transparent and open position of all permanent members of the Security Council on this issue is imperative to avoid the exercise of the veto power in such a format that would play a double prerogative, namely, to veto and to not reveal their position. E. Stakeholders’ contributions on options for accountability Views of former members of the commission of inquiry 25. In December 2020, the Special Rapporteur wrote to former members of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mr. Michael Kirby, Ms. Sonja Biserko, and Mr. Marzuki Darusman to seek their views on 33 34 35 There are disputes among experts on whether the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over non-party States situations triggered under art. 13(b) is based on universal jurisdiction or on the power of the Security Council under Chapter VII. A/RES/75/190 and A/HRC/RES/43/25. In connection to this responsibility, it is worth mentioning the remarks made by the Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson on behalf of the Secretary General in May 2014 at the Security Council meeting on Syria: “The Security Council has an inescapable responsibility in this regard. States that are members of both the Security Council and the Human Rights Council have a particular duty to end the bloodshed and to ensure justice for the victims of unspeakable crimes” https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/dsg/statement/2014-05-22/deputy-secretary-generals-remarksbehalf-secretary-general-security. 9