A/HRC/10/18 page 15 implementation at the local level. Another issue needing a response is that of accountability and responsibility with regard to the impunity which has been enjoyed for so long by those at the top and related officialdom. 54. Of note is that non-governmental organizations have repeatedly advocated for more action, especially at the highest level from the General Assembly and the Security Council, to ensure the responsibility of the State and its power base. A recent report underlines the State’s responsibility to protect its citizens, and calls on the United Nations to establish a group of experts to investigate into whether the egregious violations in the country are tantamount to a violation of the “responsibility to protect” doctrine.20 55. The protection element can also be looked at from the angle of the need for a variety of checks and balances to prevent abuse of power. In the past, there have also been calls from outside the country for the setting up of a national human rights commission. Indeed, an array of mechanisms and processes are required to uphold international rule of law, and inevitably to democratize and ensure more people’s voices and action in protecting their own rights. 56. With regard to food and other basic necessities from the perspective of protection, there are special concerns in relation to the vulnerability facing various groups, such as lactating women, children and the elderly. The plight of the urban poor also needs highlighting, as they are distant from the possibility of farming, which would otherwise supplement their income and food supplies. An important component of the right to life and the right to work that needs to be protected is the ability to undertake economic activities of one’s own choice. Current developments preclude such an option. 57. As regards the issue of personal security and related freedoms, there is a clear call to undo the damage created by the culture of fear imposed on the population, such as through surveillance of people’s conduct, the intimidating national security machinery and the extensive network of informants and related infiltration. In addition, there should be a reform of the national system of intelligence agencies, law enforcement and the justice/prison system. State policies and instructions must be clear to law enforcers, that they put an end to public executions and the use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Protection of such basic rights as the freedoms of association, expression, religion and privacy demands the reform of practices that impede their realization, and this is closely linked with the need to overcome the repressive nature of the power base. 58. As part of the protection framework, the country should accede to the full range of human rights treaties. Of particular relevance are the two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The gamut of implementation measures needed requires actions to nurture a knowledge base, attitude, skills and behaviour conducive to respect for human rights. The 20 Failure to Protect: The Ongoing Challenge of North Korea, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the Oslo Center, Washington, 2008.