The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed “deep concern” about the effect of the covid-19 epidemic on the human rights situation in North Korea.
“The latest restrictions, which include the strict isolation of people and new restrictions on movement, will have serious consequences for those who are already struggling to meet their basic needs,” said Elizabeth Throssell, spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner, in Geneva.
The Office called on the North Korean authorities to ensure “that the measures taken to deal with the pandemic are necessary, proportionate, non-discriminatory, time-bound and consistent with international human rights law,” Throssel said.
He also reiterated High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet’s call for the international community to ease sanctions “to facilitate emergency humanitarian aid and covid-19-related assistance.”
North Korea announced six new deaths “due to fever” on Tuesday, according to North Korea’s official KCNA news agency, bringing the death toll to 56, days after it acknowledged being affected by the covid-19 epidemic. 19.
According to KCNA, the military has “urgently deployed its forces to all pharmacies in Pyongyang and started supplying medicine.”
Despite large-scale lockdowns, the death toll as of Monday stood at 56, with more than 1,483,060 “fever” cases and 663,910 people under treatment, according to the agency.
