A/HRC/7/20 page 7 13. Beyond the elite, the people are faced with a painful paradox: on the one hand, the social safety nets which the State offered in the past are now no longer reliable and they must seek other ways to fend for themselves; on the other hand, when they undertake various livelihood initiatives to supplement their income, the authorities clamp down on them for fear of losing their grip on the population. One of the current quandaries is the range of new laws and regulations regulating the markets which have grown in recent years as part of the decline of State social security and as part of the experiment with the market economy. Recent regulations reportedly prohibit women under 50 from trading and forbid the sale of goods outside the market building, while public officials are patrolling markets to suppress various traders and confiscating their wares.10 It is reported that the National Intelligence Agency and police stations in Pyongyang have begun their 100-day control on the market, to check people and their bags as they enter or leave public transport and markets. 14. With regard to future planning and implementation, an important activity in the near future is the national census to be undertaken with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This should enable not only the most recent data on demography to be collected, but also act as a significant basis for development programming, assessment of needs and related responses. B. Access to food and other necessities: the disparity factor? 15. There is a great disparity between access by the elite to food and other necessities and access by the rest of the population to the wherewithal of life. This is most evident in regard to the question of food. Partly due to natural disasters and partly as a result of mismanagement on the part of the authorities, there has been a chronic food shortage since the mid-1990s affecting the general population beyond the elite. Then and now, the latter usually have first choice of whatever provisions are available. 16. The country then started to accept food aid from outside the country, particularly through the World Food Programme (WFP). This has been compounded by the decline in medical services, shortage of medicines, fertilizers and electricity, and water in some areas. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimated a food shortfall (cereals) of some 890,000 metric tons for the 2005-2006 period, and over 1 million metric tons for the 2007 period. 17. In 2006, WFP began its two year protracted relief and recovery operation (PRRO) aiming to access 1.9 million people in food aid delivery at a cost of $102 million, needing 150,000 tons of commodities, principally targeting for aid women and young children. Yet, outside aid has been less than forthcoming as a reaction to the missile and nuclear tests carried out by the country. The targets under this operation are still awaiting further support from the international community. 10 North Korea Today, 103rd ed., December 2007, pp. 1 and 2.