A/HRC/43/58 medical rights, and labour rights. It incorporates the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women into the domestic legal framework, stating that this treaty “shall have the same effect” as domestic law. In addition, it makes progress in prohibiting all forms of domestic violence, although it does not provide a legal and institutional framework to prosecute perpetrators and protect victims. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to seek technical assistance to advance further in this important area. 23. The Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women also specifies that the Korean Democratic Women’s Union, known since November 2016 as the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea, is an organization for the protection and promotion of women’s rights. According to the Government, the Women’s Union, a mass social organization of women with branches all over the country, keeps track of the implementation of the State policy and legislation on gender equality in close cooperation with other local party structures, and plays an important role in disseminating information on and raising awareness of women’s rights.27 However, according to some accounts, the Women’s Union has not adequately promoted all areas of women’s rights. B. Political participation 24. The Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Law on the Election of Deputies to People’s Assemblies at All Levels and the Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women provide legal guarantees for women to participate in all levels of political life. The Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women stipulates that the State shall actively involve women in social and political activities and raise the ratio of women deputies in each level of the People’s Assembly (art. 12). In its national report submitted in connection with its third Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea noted that, “Measures were undertaken to appoint able women to the leading posts and give wide publicity to their achievements. As a result, in 2018 alone the proportion of women leaders at or above the departments of ministries and ministry-level institutions significantly increased.”28 However, women continued to be underrepresented in the main decision-making bodies. 25. On 10 March 2019, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea held elections to the fourteenth Supreme People’s Assembly. Deputies representing the 687 constituencies of the country were elected for a five-year term. Since the 1970s, the representation of women in the Supreme People’s Assembly has been between 15 and 20 per cent, while their representation at the local level has been between 20 and 30 per cent. According to the Government, the proportion of women deputies to the thirteenth Supreme People’s Assembly (2014–2019) was 20.2 per cent.29 The ratio of women in the national or locallevel people’s assemblies does not necessarily represent the actual political participation of women. In the Presidium, the body that undertakes core State functions when the Supreme People’s Assembly is not in session, and in the Central Committee, the main governing body of the Workers’ Party of Korea, both of which have significant political influence, the representation of women is lower. In the Presidium of the fourteenth Supreme People’s Assembly, out of 17 members, 1 is a woman (5.88 per cent), while the 49-person Cabinet includes 2 women (4 per cent). In the State Affairs Commission, 1 of the 14 members (7.14 per cent) is a woman.30 In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 16.5 per cent of officials are women and 4.9 per cent of overseas diplomats are women.31 27 28 29 30 31 Ibid., paras. 40, 52, 56, 62 and 160. A/HRC/WG.6/33/PRK/1, para. 67. Ibid. Figures for the fourteenth session were not available at the time of writing. Choe Son Hui, who is also a member of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. CEDAW/C/PRK/2-4, paras. 88–89. 9