A/HRC/26/43 II. A new phase of work 6. The work performed by the commission of inquiry should be seen as the beginning of a process, not the end. The Special Rapporteur considers that the post-commission era presents a new phase for the human rights of the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the many victims from other countries, and requires a decisive change in the approach going forward. For more than 50 years, the question of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has always been regarded as a political issue within the United Nations, as shaped by its States Members, and addressed in a political manner. This would reflect and fluctuate in accordance with the international political situation. What has now happened with the report of the commission is that the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been decisively placed on the track of international law. This is not to say that the issue has been completely moved away from the political arena, where its security dimension remains of great concern; the commission’s report has, however, demonstrated the linkage between the internal situation with regard to the almost total denial of human rights and the security dimensions which, from time to time, manifest themselves in terms of aggressive behaviour by the State. With the commission’s findings, these political and security issues can only be settled or closed if these human rights violations are dealt with in a decisive manner. The commission clearly stated that it had reasonable grounds to conclude that crimes against humanity continue and that they have been taking place for decades. A core element in moving forward therefore is to pursue this matter from the perspective of international criminal justice and human rights law. 7. The phase is also new in several other important aspects. The first concerns the revelation of the truth. The second has to do with how the leadership of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea handles this revelation, as much as the heightened international scrutiny of its situation of human rights. The third focuses on the qualitative differences in responses that are required of Member States, neighbouring States and other States concerned, the United Nations system and its relevant bodies, other stakeholders and the international community as a whole. This will also require a realignment of and strengthening in the work of civil society and people-to-people contacts. The Special Rapporteur believes that all these aspects are interrelated and changes in one will inevitably affect those in another. III. Revelation of the truth 8. One of the most striking observations that the Special Rapporteur has made throughout his mandate and during his work with the commission of inquiry is that, for so many years, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was able to conceal the true magnitude and gravity of its atrocities against its own people. In the past decade, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council (and the Commission on Human Rights before 2006) adopted resolutions every year in which they expressed their deepest concern at the systematic, widespread and grave violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Year after year, the Government rejected those resolutions, denied such violations and refused to grant access to the international community to verify the situation. 9. In his report submitted to the Human Rights Council in 2013,3 in which the Special Rapporteur made a comprehensive review of more than 60 United Nations reports and resolutions on the situation of human rights in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 3 4 A/HRC/22/57.