A/HRC/25/CRP.1
information on the status of DPRK citizens and their children in China, forced repatriations
to and related cooperation with the DPRK, human trafficking, and other issues of concern
to the mandate of the Commission. On 30 December 2013, the Commission received a
reply to its letter. An additional letter was received on 26 January 2013. The
correspondence is annexed to the report of the Commission.14
46.
Sections of the report that touch on the responsibility of other states, responsibility
for their nationals and/or matters directly related to other states have been shared with the
Governments concerned to permit factual corrections. Information received in response,
within the stipulated deadlines, has been carefully reviewed by the Commission and
integrated to the extent appropriate, in particular where facts were inaccurately expressed.
5.
Cooperation of United Nations entities and other organizations
47.
Resolution 22/13 encourages the United Nations, including its specialized agencies,
regional intergovernmental organizations, mandate holders, interested institutions and
independent experts and non-governmental organizations, to develop regular dialogue and
cooperation with the Commission in the fulfilment of its mandate.
48.
The Commission has engaged with a number of United Nations entities and
humanitarian actors outside the United Nations system to obtain relevant information. A
small number of United Nations entities were wary of cooperating openly with the
Commission for fear of negative repercussions on their operations in the DPRK. Some
provided relevant information, while others did not. This report only attributes information
to specific organizations where such information is reflected in their public reports. The
citation of a public report is not necessarily an indication that an organization has
cooperated with the Commission.
49.
The Commission extends its gratitude to the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights. Apart from its dedicated Secretariat, the Commission also received advice
and support from OHCHR’s standing function to support commissions of inquiry, factfinding missions and other human rights investigative missions. Such support and
assistance was afforded with proper respect to the independence and integrity of the
Commission, its members and its Secretariat. The Commission also interacted with, and
received relevant information from, a number of mandate holders under the Special
Procedures of the Human Rights Council and human rights Treaty Bodies.
50.
The Commission benefitted from the invaluable support of a number of nongovernmental organizations that thoroughly document human rights violations in the
DPRK. These organizations sometimes suffer from inadequate financial resources.
Nevertheless, they went to great lengths to ensure that the Commission could gain the trust
of victims and witnesses who had departed the DPRK.
6.
Protection of witnesses and other investigative challenges
51.
The Commission paid particular attention to the protection of victims and witnesses.
The initial protection assessment carried out by the Commission indicated that the
authorities of the DPRK routinely subject persons who speak out about the human rights
situation in the DPRK to summary executions, enforced disappearances and other acts of
violence. Grave reprisals have also been extended to the family members of such persons.
The Commission took into account the policy of the People’s Republic of China to forcibly
repatriate persons who depart the DPRK as well as known cases in which such persons
were abducted by DPRK authorities and forced to return to the DPRK.
14
See A/HRC/25/63, annex II .
13