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Delegation: Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Committee: Human Rights Council

Delegate: Dafin Iarina

I. The Death Penalty

The death penalty has always been a very controversial topic that, in modern days, got either in

accordance with one nationsprinciples or in contradiction with anothers. The capital punishment - as it

is also commonly called - according to the UNs ethics, is a permanent act of violence and it undoubtedly

violates the universal laws of human rights. Also, it cannot be identified with any kind of respect towards

them, as it is suggested in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

There have been several treaties regarding the rights of people around the globe and the capital

punishment, the four most important being adopted regionally (Protocols no. 6 and 13 to the ECHR and

the Protocol to the ACHR) and internationally (The Second Optional Protocol to the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty). All these settlementshave been already accepted by a big number of countries and many more are still trying to reach the

complete or partial abolition of the death penalty. The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea recognized

none of these treaties, the only settlement that the country signed and ratified being the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), in 1966. On 23rd of August 1997, DPRK attempted to

withdraw from its position in the Covenant through a notification. Given that the agreement didnt include

a method of abandonment, the situation required the agreement of all the other states, thus making the

departure impossible.

For the future plan, large and significant organizations that are active in the field of Human Rights, such

as the United Nations, are constantly trying to aim at the eradication of all the malfunctioning penalty

systems that include death sentences.

II. The Position of DPRK towards the UN and the Suggestions of the Representative Committee

In the case of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations arrangement

places itself in opposition with the philosophy of the supreme leader and his party. Generally speaking, in

Asia, death penalty enjoys strong public support and little to no attention from the media, but its also used

as a tool of political oppression and a way of refining the population through fright.

The Associated Press has reported that executions and torture in North Korea are worse than animal

slaughter. In 2001, the government passed the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) a report that claimed

the decrease of criminal penalties carrying executions from 33 to 5. On the other hand, the HRC noticed

that 4 of 5 were caused by essentially political problems. The international public view is, once again,

influenced by the latest executions of a North Korean man (Jan 2013) and a North Korean official (Jan

2012).

Several notices were brought up to solve the case of DPRKs cruel routine, most of them by Special

Rapporteur Marzuki Darusman, that considers them crimes against humanity and violations to the right

of life. Most recently, Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has welcomed the

establishment by the Human Rights council of a commission on inquiry into al leged abuses, a decision

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made by the 47-member body in their latest session (22 March). Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the

High Commissioner of Human Rights, said that the deplorable situation in DPRK [] affects almost the

entire population and has no parallel anywhere else in the world. On the same day, the Democratic

Peoples Republic of Korea, more precisely the foreign ministry in Pyongyang, in a statement released

through the Korean Central News Agency, said it completely rejects the resolution of the UN Human

Rights Council and will ignore it, declaring the countrys determination for maintaining its autonomousposition.

DPRK includes human rights in its Constitution, but it permits no free media, political, civilian or

religious freedom. Death penalties include crimes against the state or crimes against the people, often

condemned by the UN and the general public because of the uncertain trials and conditions. According to

the will of the state, the supreme leader and the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the

representative team has reached a solution that will benefit the morals of both sides, to be able to reach an

agreement. The representative team suggests the alteration of the present law, as it should revise the death

penalties that are usually applied to insignificant crimes that cant be measured with ones life and suggest

other punishments, grading the difficulty by the gravity of the offences. The mentioned solution could

provide both well-chosen results (such as more working individuals) on the side of DPRK and thedecrease of deaths caused by either public or private executions.

Do not divide the topic into two parts, the aim of the position paper is to briefly and concise stateyour country position on the debated topic

Congratulations for your research, you have wrote almost twice as much it was requested. For thefuture try to keep it shorter and focus only briefly on what has been done so far. The most

important part of the position paper is the political declaration you make on behalf of your

government in what concerns what it should be done and what your country wishes to promote

A position paper should look more like a political declaration rather than an explanatorydocument