A/HRC/4/15 page 17 a number of the cases mentioned are being addressed by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Significant United Nations resolutions have been adopted on the issue, most recently by the General Assembly which in resolution 61/174 expressed its concern at the continuing reports of grave violations including “unresolved questions of international concern relating to the abduction of foreigners in the form of enforced disappearance, which violates the human rights of the nationals of other sovereign countries” (para. 1 (b) (v)). 54. In 2006 matters were made more complicated by the various missile and nuclear tests carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the face of global condemnation, especially through the adoption by consensus of Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on the country. 55. A number of Japanese laws are related to the issues concerning the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in particular the 2002 law concerning support for the victims of abduction by that country. Other laws which cover not only the country in question but also other countries include the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law as amended in 2004; the law on liability for oil pollution as amended in 2004; and the 2004 special measures law prohibiting the entry into Japanese ports of specific ships. Major developments in 2006 in response to the abduction issue included the setting up of the Headquarters for the Abduction Issue, the identification of the seventeenth victim, and the new identification of agents responsible for one of the abductions. In 2006 the “Law concerning measures on the issues of abductions and other human rights violations by North Korean authorities” came into force, underlining Japan’s commitment to resolve the abductions issue. The Law provided for highlighting the issue through a national week to deepen awareness of human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the issuing of an annual report on the subject, the promotion of an international association between Japanese nationals and other nationalities, and measures to support “North Korean defectors”. The question of defectors affects at least two groups: Japanese spouses of nationals of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and former Korean residents of Japan who went to live in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and who now wish to return to Japan. Japanese spouses of former Korean residents in Japan who went to live in the country in question are also considered to be cases of concern. In addition, there may be channels for sheltering others who seek refuge from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. During his visit to Japan, the Special Rapporteur also participated in one of the events launched under the said Law: the International Conference on Realities of North Korean International Abduction and its Solution, where he met not only the families of Japanese abductees but also those of other nationalities, including the nephew of a Thai national affected by abduction. 56. It will be recalled that at the end of the Special Rapporteur’s first visit to Japan in 2005 in connection with his mandate, he issued a humanitarian call based on five key principles (see A/60/306, para. 51). They deserve re-emphasis as follows: “(a) Responsibility: I call upon the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to respond effectively and expeditiously to Japan’s claim that there are a number of Japanese nationals abducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who are still alive [there] and that they should be returned to Japan immediately and in safety;