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Commission's Major Activities
International covenants prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and provide that arrested
persons be informed of the reasons they are arrested and that everyone has the right to a fair and
open trial.
The Commission found it necessary to carefully investigate whether North Korea’s detention
of South Korean nationals without giving the reasons of detention or a formal trial in some cases
is a violation of international codes.
On 11 September, with the support of the United Nations Secretary General and the special
procedures, the Commission decided to send a communication to the North Korean authorities
demanding verification of the life or death of captive South Koreans, bringing their attention
to North Korea’s obligations and responsibilities as a United Nations member and signatory
to international agreements, calling for a careful review of its compliance with international
agreements, and urging actions.
2) Laying the institutional groundwork
● North Korean Human Rights Infringement Report Center and Repository of North Korean
Human Rights Records
The Commission is operating the North Korean Human Rights Infringement Report Center
and the Repository of Cases of Human Rights Infringement in North Korea to keep track of
the human rights violations and discriminations North Korean defectors had suffered in North
Korea.
The Commission collected and managed cases of human rights infringement from
North Korean defectors who entered Korea in and after March 2012. Defectors complete a
questionnaire survey about human rights infringements they had faced or witnessed in North
Korea or during their flight. The Commission collected surveys from a total of 2,856 defectors,
including 619 in 2012, 652 in 2013, 484 in 2014, 682 in 2015, and 419 in 2016.
In 2016, the Commission also held in-depth interviews of 38 persons for detailed accounts of
human rights violations in North Korea.
Following the enforcement of the North Korean Human Rights Act in September 2016, the
Ministry of Unification began collecting cases of human rights violations from North Korean