A/HRC/22/57 the citizens of the Republic of Korea and Japan by the agents of the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea, may amount to crimes against humanity under Article 7, paragraphs (1) (i) and (2) (i) of the Rome Statute to the extent that they form part of a systematic or widespread attack against a civilian population. In this regard, it is worth emphasizing that enforced disappearances (whether they amount to crimes against humanity or not) constitute continuous acts that are ongoing as long as the fate of the victim is not clarified and on this ground already not affected by prescription. 28. The Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that grave human rights violations in the prison camps (or) even the mere existence of such camps, with slave-like conditions for political prisoners, may qualify as crimes against humanity under Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Rome Statute, subparagraphs (c) enslavement, and (e) imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law. He also notes that the particularly inhumane conditions and treatment to which detainees in political prison camps are exposed on an intentional basis could give raise to crimes against humanity, including on the basis of all of the specific acts cited in paragraph 25 above. 29. On 3 April 2012, the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK),35 a coalition of some 40 international non-governmental organizations, submitted a petition36 to the special-procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council on the use of labour camps for political prisoners and the pattern of human rights violation committed in these prison camps. These were detailed extensively in a memorandum “The situation of detainees in Gulag System (Kwan-li-so) of the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea”. The Coalition recommended, inter alia, that the international community take effective measures to ameliorate the suffering of those 150,000 to 200,000 people imprisoned in those camps; and that the United Nations, acting through the General Assembly or Human Rights Council, initiate a commission of inquiry into the crimes against humanity being committed in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea for the purpose of holding the State and individual perpetrators to account for the ongoing commission of these crimes. Based on that petition, on 3 October 2012, five mandate holders, namely the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances sent a joint allegation letter to the Government of the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea on the alleged use of labour camps for political prisoners. At the time of writing, the mandate holders have not received any response from the Government. 30. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that, in line with its commitment at the 2005 World Summit, the international community, through the United Nations, has the responsibility to use appropriate peaceful means to help to protect the population in the Democratic People‟s Republic of Korea from crimes against humanity. 37 As one of the minimum steps, and in line with the emerging practice with regard to other country situations where serious violations are being committed on a systematic or widespread basis, he considers that the international community has the responsibility to launch an independent and impartial international inquiry into a situation, where there are grounds to believe that crimes against humanity are being committed and the country concerned fails to carry out effective independent and impartial inquiries itself. While usually not sufficient in and by itself to end crimes against humanity, increased scrutiny by 35 36 37 See http://www.stopnkcrimes.org/about_01.php. See http://www.fidh.org/The-International-Coalition-to General Assembly resolution 60/1, para. 139. 11