Joint statement by United Nations Watch and Ingénieurs du Monde, delivered by intern Alexandra Gabriel before the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 23 September 2025. Agenda Item 4, Enhanced interactive dialogue on High Commissioner report on Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea.
Full Speech:
Thank you, Mr. President.
We are deeply alarmed by today’s report on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Last year, the DPRK’s delegate claimed legislative changes aimed at correcting unjust trial practices.
But make no mistake, with 99% of political cases resulting in convictions, the people of the DPRK are not receiving fair trials.
Once they are sentenced they face years of torment in labor camps. Survivors of these camps describe 15-hour workdays starvation, torture, and rape.
In the harshest facilities, annual death rates have reached up to 25%. These prisoners are not only robbed of human rights; they are seen as subhuman.
Today, the DPRK’s propensity for human rights has made its way past the country’s borders. Its quote, “special alliance of trust and friendship with Russia,” has allowed both countries to disregard international law.
By supplying 1.2 million artillery shells and at least 11,000 troops since 2023, the DPRK is enabling Russia’s war in Ukraine and prolonging the suffering of civilians.
This alliance forms part of a troubling trend of collaboration between Russia, DPRK, and the Islamic Republic of Iran in which they trample international law and then shield each other from the consequences.
We ask this Council when will you take action for the victims of the DPRK’s abuses both within and beyond its borders.
I thank you.
