UN Human Rights Council 61st Session –
Item 4 - Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the DPRK -
Nordic-Baltic Statement by H.E. Ambassador Ivars Pundurs
Geneva, 13 March 2026
Mr. President,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States.
Madame Special Rapporteur, we thank you for the report and your continued efforts to maintain international focus on the ongoing systemic and widespread human rights violations and abuses in the DPRK.
Despite some engagement with international human rights mechanisms, the overall human rights situation in the DPRK has not improved.
We support the Special Rapporteur’s recommendation «that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea immediately facilitate the return of the international staff of United Nations agencies to the country and provide access to the country”.
We welcome the report’s focus on the DPRK’s participation in the Universal Periodic Review and share the Special Rapporteur’s concerns about the lack of demonstrable progress by the DPRK in implementing most of the UPR recommendations.
We strongly urge the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under international law, engage meaningfully with UN human rights mechanisms and the international community, and make lasting changes for the people of the DPRK by upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms, particularly through the implementation of the UPR recommendations.
Madam Special Rapporteur, how can the international community facilitate the DPRK's implementation of its previously accepted UPR recommendations?
I thank you.