MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2021) The Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea reported to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday that the situation in the country has not seen any improvements amid total lockdown and Pyongyang's tough COVID-19 countermeasures, including the killing of civilians near the border.
"As measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, DPRK banned all movement of people and goods in and out of the country, and border guards were reportedly authorized to shoot people approaching its borders," the report stated.
According to the document, the total lockdown and restricted access to the internet "intensified" Pyongyang's isolation from the rest of the world. Under these circumstances, international human rights watchdogs and NGOs were unable to monitor the situation in the country.
"The shut-off from information exchange obscured the true situation of COVID-19, including in detention facilities where tens of thousands of people were held, some at risk of torture, forced labour or other ill-treatment," the document said.
The special rapporteur urged Pyongyang to open investigations into the killing of a South Korean civilian found in DPRK's waters in September and to provide full access to the country to international human rights monitors and NGOs.
Earlier in February, Seoul expressed concerns that sanctions imposed on North Korea could worsen the humanitarian crisis in the country and called upon the global community to find flexible ways to help the North Korean population as Pyongyang currently faces severe food, medicine and supply shortages.
