To date, throughout the three cycles of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of North Korea, there have been very few recommendations from UN member states regarding issues such as separated families, abductees, and war prisoners compared to other human ri...
To date, throughout the three cycles of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of North Korea, there have been very few recommendations from UN member states regarding issues such as separated families, abductees, and war prisoners compared to other human rights issues. During the 1st UPR in 2009, out of 167 recommendations from UN member states, only 2 were related to separated families, abductees, and war prisoners, and those came from South Korea and Switzerland. In the 2nd UPR in 2014, out of 268 recommendations, only 3 concerned these issues, an increase of just 1 recommendation. During the 3rd UPR in 2019, out of 262 recommendations, only 6 from 5 countries addressed these concerns. Human rights diplomacy should be strengthened to ensure that more UN member states make recommendations on issues related to separated families, abductees, and war prisoners for the 4th UPR in November 2024.