ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Section 4. Special ‌ Task: Reinforcing Activities to Promote North Korean Human Rights A. Overview 1) Background In April of 2003, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the National Assembly called on the Commission to take the lead in a project to promote North Korean human rights. In response, the Commission launched a non-permanent group by the name of the North Korean Human Rights Research Team as a result of the decisions made in the 40th Plenary Committee in 2003. Since then, the Commission has been actively engaged in research, investigation, policy development and recommendations, and forums on North Korean human rights. In 2006, it announced the “NHRCK statement on North Korean human rights” to present policy directions and guiding principles to approach issues regarding North Korean human rights, with a pledge to serve an active role on this front. It set North Korean human rights as one of its 10 major key assignments in 2007, and designated strengthening policy activities to improve North Korean human rights as one of its six major projects in 2008. Launching the Special Project to bolster human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2009, the Commission newly put in place the North Korean Human Rights Team in 2010. Despite the announcement of the report from the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the UN Security Council (UNSC)’s move to include the North Korean human rights situation in its agenda for February, 2014, there has been no signs of improvement in North Korean human rights. Rather, the number of North Korean defectors who take refugee into the ROK is on the decrease due to even stronger control and surveillance. In South Korea, we saw some progress thanks to bipartisan action to integrate the existing bills related to North Korean human rights in the 19th National Assembly. We came up with a proposal for a united bill, although it failed to reach legislation. There is an increasing demand to improve North Korean human rights in the international community as well. In 2015 at the UN General Assembly, the vast majority8) of member 8) 119 votes in favor, 19 against, and 48 abstentions 68 | National Human Rights Commission of Korea