Item Details
Skip Navigation Links
   ActiveUsers:3283Hits:20985806Skip Navigation Links
Show My Basket
Contact Us
IDSA Web Site
Ask Us
Today's News
HelpExpand Help
Advanced search

In Basket
  Journal Article   Journal Article
 

ID151997
Title ProperNorth Korea’s participation in the Universal periodic review of Human Rights
LanguageENG
AuthorChow, Jonathan T
Summary / Abstract (Note)North Korea’s participation in the UNHRC’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR)—a peer review in which states make recommendations to one another for improving human rights implementation—is a notable exception to its rejection of other human rights mechanisms. What explains North Korea’s willing participation in the UPR? This essay analyses North Korea’s participation in the first (2008–11) and second (2012–15) UPR cycles through its written submissions, responses to recommendations, and recommendations to other states. It finds that North Korea has consistently accepted weak recommendations, rejected more specific policy changes, and implemented accepted recommendations on a limited basis, allowing it to claim compliance with human rights at minimal cost. The UPR’s reliance on states’ self-reports and its inability to adjudicate competing factual claims allow North Korea to reject claims of egregious abuses, openly advocate for a radically state-centric vision of human rights, and challenge the legitimacy of human rights mechanisms like the Commission of Inquiry and Special Rapporteur while building support from other states with similar views. Notably, the Commission of Inquiry appears to have motivated North Korea to increase its cooperation with the UPR, demonstrating that the UPR complements but cannot replace other UN human rights mechanisms.
`In' analytical NoteAustralian Journal of International Affairs Vol. 71, No.2; Apr 2017: p.146-163
Journal SourceAustralian Journal of International Affairs Vol: 71 No 2
Key WordsNorth Korea ;  Human Rights Council ;  Universal Periodic Review ;  United Nations ;  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ;  Commission of Inquiry ;  Human Rights Peer Review ;  Special Rapporteur


 
 
Media / Other Links  Full Text