Third Committee

Agenda item 68 (b &c): Human Rights

Intervention by the Republic of Maldives to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPR of Korea

United Nations, New York, 27 October 2016

Thank you Madam Chair,

My delegation would like to express its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur for his Report and the important work carried out in fulfilling his mandate.

We note the positive steps, as mentioned by the Special Rapporteur, by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in engaging with the UN human rights mechanism.

While there has been some progress, the dire consequences of flagrant violation of international law repeatedly demonstrated by the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea cannot be ignored. My delegation, would like to condemn in the strongest terms, missile launches and continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, including nuclear testing conducted by the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea which can only build on to the tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Maldives supports the international human rights mandate holder and calls on countries to extend their cooperation to the UN mandate holders to facilitate their work.

My question to the Special Rapporteur is with regard to the newly designated independent experts. Since there is a history of continuous rejection of the SRs mandate including the refusal for access by the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, my delegation requests the Special Rapporteur to elaborate whether there is difference in approach and expectation that might accrue from the mandate of the independent experts in the case of the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Thanks you.