ステートメント - 第32回人権理事会　議題4一般討論における多田昌弘参事官ステートメント（平成28年6月22日）

 
Thank you, Mr. Vice-President,
 
　The international community is currently facing a broad array of human rights situations that require the Council’s attention. These include unjustifiable suppression of the activities of human rights defenders, including lawyers, which has become an increasingly serious issue in some regions in the world. They also include the human rights violations by ISIL (Daesh) in Syria and Iraq and by Boko Haram in West Africa. Japan has been participating in several ways in the efforts for resolving such issues.
　The systematic and long-term human rights violations being carried out by North Korea are unparalleled in their gravity.
　No improvements have been made to North Korea’s dire human rights situation, including political prisoners’ camps, as pointed out in the COI report released two years ago. In particular, the acts of abductions (that tear apart families, including those with young children,) are among the most serious human rights violations by North Korea.
 
　In this regard, the establishment of “a group of experts on accountability” was decided by the HRC resolution adopted last March(, based on the suggestion of Special Rapporteur Darusman). We are looking forward to the group of experts starting its activities from September as planned.
 
　Special Rapporteur Darusman will soon complete his six-year term. We once again express our appreciation for his accomplishments (based on his excellent insight and dedication). The government of Japan will continue to provide its utmost cooperation to the new Special Rapporteur to be appointed during this session.
 
　Tomorrow, the OHCHR Seoul office will mark the first anniversary of its opening. We support the independence of the Seoul office, and note the steps it has taken so far(, including its documentation of testimonies through conducting interviews). The Seoul office is expected to pursue accountability in cooperation with the group of experts. In this effort, Japan expects the Seoul Office to play a more active role through intensifying its mapping of perpetrators of human rights violations and related chains of command.
 
(Lastly, we urge North Korea to pay serious attention to the concerns repeatedly raised by the international community, squarely face the realities of the dire human rights situation persisting in North Korea and take concrete measures to redress the situation.)
 
(I thank you,)