A/HRC/7/20 page 4 Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur was established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 2004/13. The Human Rights Council, in decision 1/102, extended the mandates and mandate holders of all the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights and, in its resolution 5/1, renewed those mandates until they could be considered by the Council. The Special Rapporteur has been requested to report on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and on the Government’s compliance with its obligations under human rights instruments, including through visits to the country. 2. The present report covers the situation from 2007 to the beginning of 2008. The approach of the Special Rapporteur continues to be to invite the country to respond to the mandate as a window of opportunity to engage with the United Nations. It is thus regrettable that to date, the authorities of the country have declined to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur. 3. On the constructive side, it can first be recalled that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a party to four human rights treaties - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It has submitted reports under these treaties and has appeared before the respective monitoring bodies. In November 2007, it submitted its combined third and fourth periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/PRK/4). Secondly, the country is in the process of reforming its laws on narcotics control and money laundering. It has become a party to the Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs (1961); Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971); and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988). The International Narcotics Control Board was invited to visit the country recently, thus implying a greater degree of openness from the authorities. Thirdly, pursuant to devastating floods in the country in August 2007, it has allowed humanitarian agencies to have greater access to the counties affected by the flooding, and various sources indicate that the authorities have cooperated relatively well with the United Nations and other organizations in food distribution and provision of assistance to needy groups. 4. On another front, the progress of the six-party talks, particularly the February 2007 agreement to disable the controversial nuclear plant in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, should be welcomed and be further consolidated.1 This was advanced by the six parties in the 3 October 2007 agreement on “Second-Phase Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement.” Another welcomed development is the second inter-Korean summit meeting, held in Pyongyang from 2 to 4 October 2007, and the adoption of the Declaration on the Advancement of North-South Korean Relations, Peace and Prosperity, which strengthens the spirit of cooperation between the two countries, with potential impact on human rights. 1 North Korea’s Nuclear Programmes: Getting Technical, The Economist, 10-16 November 2007, p. 42.