A/75/388 authorities in a comatose state and died six days after his return to the United States of America in June 2017. V. Two-track approach: accountability and engagement 44. The Special Rapporteur continues to take a two-track approach, consisting of highlighting the human rights violations in the country and the need to explore the full range of possibilities to secure accountability, alongside offering constructive engagement with the Government to work together with the international community to find solutions to human rights issues. Accountability for the most serious human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is imperative to pursue justice, to uphold the rights of victims and to deter future violations. That is an international agenda that will never expire. To that end, the Special Rapporteur supports the work of OHCHR to advance the accountability agenda aimed at developing strategies for potential accountability mechanisms. At the same time, it is crucial that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea overcomes the entrenched culture of impunity – a culture where accountability processes for government action are rare, obscure and arbitrary, and where the leadership has a primary role in imposing punishments on all citizens, but is not accountable for any of its actions. 45. Improvement of the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea also requires investment in cooperation and engagement. The isolation of the country means the isolation of ordinary people who are subject to patterns of abuses. Providing avenues and entry points for the authorities to gradually open up dialogue and grant access to the country is critical, and the so lidarity and unity brought by the COVID-19 era reaffirms that that is the direction to take. Engagement entails a long-term process of setting bases for trust and confidence, where improvement of the institutions and positive changes on the ground are grad ual and complex. The Special Rapporteur has not been able to exchange views with the authorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He has sent four letters to the Government, in which he commended the efforts to prevent a major outbreak of COVID-19 in the country and encouraged the authorities to allow full and unimpeded access to medical and scientific experts and humanitarian actors. He also requested a visit to the country to discuss human rights issues, including the impact of sanctions on people’s rights. He further noted his support for the peace initiatives and expressed condolences to and solidarity with all the people who have been affected by the series of recent natural disasters. Although the Special Rapporteur has not received responses on any of those letters, he will continue to reach out the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 46. The Special Rapporteur’s function is also to play the role of a catalyst for other human rights groups and mechanisms to engage with the Government. They include the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, the universal periodic review and the special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations country team and other United Nations agencies, as well as civil society organizations. Securing access to the country for international human rights mechanisms must be a top priority, and the visit to the country of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities in May 2017 should be taken as a meaningful precedent for future country visits. 20-13513 17/21