A/HRC/RES/58/17 Concerned that the precarious humanitarian situation in the country is exacerbated by the restrictions imposed by the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on free and unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies to all populations in need, Deeply concerned about the exacerbation of the humanitarian situation and the adverse impact on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of disproportionate and unnecessary measures taken following the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the national outbreak announced in May 2022, emphasizing the importance of timely assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in addressing the humanitarian situation, and underlining in this regard the importance of allowing entry into and exit out of the country by international staff, free and unimpeded access to all populations in need and the import of materials necessary for assisting persons in vulnerable situations, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, Recalling that any restrictions that were imposed during the pandemic and still remain in force must be necessary, proportionate, non-discriminatory, time-bound, transparent and strictly in line with international law, including the obligations of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea under international human rights law and relevant Security Council resolutions, Condemning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for national policies that continue to divert its resources into pursuing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles over the welfare of its people and their access to food, and emphasizing the necessity for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respect and ensure the welfare and inherent dignity of the people in the country, as referred to by the Security Council in its resolutions 2321 (2016) of 30 November 2016, 2371 (2017) of 5 August 2017, 2375 (2017) of 11 September 2017 and 2397 (2017) of 22 December 2017, Reaffirming that it is the responsibility of the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of its entire population, including the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, and to respect, among other things, freedom of movement, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of association and of peaceful assembly, and freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, Recognizing that particular risk factors, such as neglect, abuse, exploitation and violence, affect all women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons, and the need to ensure their full enjoyment of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and recalling in this regard the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the combined second to fourth periodic reports of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea2 and the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the fifth periodic report of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,3 Encouraging the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to implement all of the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities in her report on her visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, submitted to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session,4 recalling with appreciation the submission of the initial report of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 5 in December 2018, and taking note with appreciation of the submission by the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in December 2023, of the written replies 6 to the list of issues in relation to that initial report,7 2 CEDAW/C/PRK/CO/2-4. CRC/C/PRK/CO/5. 4 A/HRC/37/56/Add.1. 5 CRPD/C/PRK/1. 6 CRPD/C/PRK/RQ/1. 7 CRPD/C/PRK/Q/1. 3 2