North Korea finally bows to UN pressure

North Korea has agreed to a visit by the UN expert on the human rights of people with disabilities, the world body said on Thursday.

This is a minor concession after years of criticism of Pyongyang’s record from the Human Rights Council.

The visit by Catalina Devandas-Aguilar from May 3 to May 8, will be the first ever to North Korea by an independent expert designated by the Council, a 47-state body that is pushing for justice for crimes against humanity it says have been committed.

North Korea has consistently denounced the Council’s resolutions as a conspiracy by the U.S. and other “hostile forces”, while its ally China has tried to shield it from scrutiny.

It has not allowed any of a string of UN human rights investigators specifically focusing on North Korea itself to visit.

In March, North Korean diplomats boycotted a Council session on abuses in North Korea amid rising tension on the divided peninsula following its latest missile tests and two nuclear tests in 2016.

Devandas-Aguilar’s visit will take her to Pyongyang and the South Hwanghae Province and will focus particularly on children with disabilities in North Korea.

North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), ratified the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities in December 2016.

“My upcoming visit to DPRK represents a key opportunity to learn first-hand about national realities, laws, policies and programmes concerning people with disabilities, as well as the challenges and opportunities the Government faces in implementing the Convention,” she said in a statement.

Devandas-Aguilar plans to hold a news conference in Pyongyang at the end of her visit and to submit her findings next year.

(NAN)