www.humanrights.go.kr organizations, workshops, visits to groups particularly vulnerable to abuse, and meetings with civil groups for partnership planning. as the Commission was elected as Chair of the Working Group. In his capacity, Lee led Part I In March 2016, Chairperson Lee has been leading the GANHRI Working Group on Ageing international discussions on the topic of human rights of the elderly. He held a working group Group on Ageing held in December to make a presentation on ways to protect human rights of the elderly. In addition, the Commission strengthened its cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Labour Organization (ILO), and Asia Development Bank (ADB) at the 2016 ASEM Expert Forum on Human Rights of Older Persons that it hosted. Notably, it agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding with UNESCAP to cooperate for the promotion of human rights for the elderly. It also stepped up exchanges and cooperation with national human rights organizations abroad by visiting or inviting organizations in Denmark, the Philippines, Germany, Mongolia, and Indonesia. B. Special Programmes: Improving human rights in North Korea The Commission co-hosted an international symposium with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Seoul. The theme was Protecting and Promoting Women’s Rights in North Korea with a Focus on the UN Human Rights Protection Mechanisms. Specific ways to improve human rights conditions in North Korea were discussed at the symposium. It also strengthened cooperation and collaboration with the U.S. by holding an expert meeting in Washington on Republic of Korea (ROK) and U.S. policy toward North Korean human rights. The meeting discussed ways to sanction human rights violators and the directions of ROK-US policy. The Commission monitored and expressed its opinion on the government’s implementation of the North Korean Human Right Act. In-depth discussions were also held at the quarterly North 17 Introduction meeting in June and represented GANHRI at a conference of the UN Open-ended Working