A/HRC/43/58 9. Regarding sanctions, the Special Rapporteur notes the continuing comprehensive nature of combined unilateral 10 and United Nations sanctions on trade, investment and financial transactions.11 According to information received, overall market activities have slowed down owing to sanctions, the shutdown of borders and uncertainties in the political and economic environment, which has had a negative impact on people’s livelihoods, particularly those living in border areas. The joint rapid food security assessment undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme highlighted the impact of sanctions on agricultural production, in particular restrictions on the import of fuel, machinery and spare parts for equipment.12 The import of medical equipment such as X-ray, anaesthesia and ultrasound machines has also been blocked. United Nations entities operating in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continue to highlight the detrimental impact of sanctions on humanitarian operations, including restrictions related to transit-country import waivers and suspended banking channels.13 In that regard, the Special Rapporteur commends the decision by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to resume its grant to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including the drug-susceptible tuberculosis and malaria components of the grant implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization, as well as the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis component implemented by the Eugene Bell Foundation. 10. In October 2019, the Special Rapporteur met with non-governmental organizations working in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to provide humanitarian assistance. They emphasized that small non-governmental organizations do not have the necessary capacity, including the legal expertise, to secure exemptions from the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1718 (2006). They stressed that permission was needed from the Committee for such seemingly innocuous things as water filters, hygiene kits and money for building wells, which has had a negative impact on the population’s access to clean water, including in hospitals, in a country where half of the schools and health facilities lack adequate water and sanitation facilities. The Special Rapporteur urges the Committee to adopt a broader interpretation of humanitarian work, so that exemptions are provided for items that are necessary to improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. 11. While in New York, the Special Rapporteur met with the Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations, as the Permanent Representative of Germany is the current Chair of the Committee. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the decision by the Committee’s Panel of Experts to include in its report a section on the humanitarian impact of sanctions to record the negative impact on the rights of the citizens of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, including a large number of children under 5 years of age, in the areas of food security and agriculture, nutrition, health, water and sanitation and disaster risk reduction. 14 He also welcomes the progress made by the Committee in improving transparency in the exemptions process for humanitarian agencies working in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including the improved guidance provided to United Nations entities in the country, and the biannual briefing provided by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to the Committee. 12. The Special Rapporteur welcomes in particular the recommendation made by the Committee’s Panel of Experts in its 2019 report to the Security Council calling upon the Secretary-General to request the Secretariat to carry out an assessment of the humanitarian impact of sanctions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.15 That recommendation 10 11 12 13 14 15 Unilateral sanctions have been imposed by Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, and by the European Union. For United Nations sanctions, see Security Council resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 2270 (2016), 2321 (2016), 2371 (2017), 2375 (2017) and 2397 (2017). FAO and the World Food Programme, Joint Rapid Food Security Assessment: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, May 2019, p. 14. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Global Humanitarian Overview 2020, p. 66. S/2019/171 and Corr.1, annex. Ibid., para. 180. 5