Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea A/RES/80/220 Noting the gradual reopening of the country’s borders, and calling upon the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to meet its responsibilities in facilitating the further return on a non‑discriminatory basis of the diplomatic community, agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system, and civil society organizations, as well as for the resumption of a meaningful dialogue with the international community, Encouraging diplomatic efforts, and stressing the importance of dialogue and engagement, including inter-Korean dialogue, to seek improvement of the human rights and the humanitarian situation in the country, Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General to contribute to improving interKorean relations and promoting reconciliation and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the well-being of the Korean people, 1. Condemns in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in and by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including those that may amount to crimes against humanity according to the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 22/13 of 21 March 2013, 15 and those identified by the group of independent experts on accountability for human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 16 established pursuant to Council resolution 31/18 of 23 March 2016, 17 and by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, including its field-based structure in Seoul, and the continuing impunity for such violations; 2. Expresses its very serious concern about: (a) Continuing reports of persistent violations of human rights, including the detailed findings made by the commission of inquiry in its report, by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in its ongoing monitoring and documentation work and by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, such as: (i) Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including inhuman conditions of detention; all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, in particular against women and girls; extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions; the imposition of the death penalty for political and religious reasons, which is now more widely allowed by law and implemented in practice; public executions; extrajudicial and arbitrary detention; the absence of fair trial guarantees and the rule of law, including an independent and corruption-free judiciary; and collective punishments extending up to three generations; (ii) The existence of an extensive penal system including political prison camps, re-education camps, labour training camps, labour training centres, detention centres, holding centres and waiting rooms, where a vast number of persons are deprived of their liberty and subjected to deplorable conditions, including forced labour, and where alarming violations of human rights are perpetrated; (iii) Enforced and involuntary disappearances of persons by arrest, detention or abduction against their will; refusal to disclose the fate and whereabouts of _______________ 15 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/68/53), chap. IV, sect. A. 16 See A/HRC/34/66/Add.1. 17 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/71/53), chap. IV, sect. A. 25-20980 5/14