A/HRC/19/65 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was established by the Commission on Human Rights pursuant to its resolution 2004/13, and has been renewed annually since. Also pursuant to that resolution, the Special Rapporteur submit two reports every year: one to the Human Rights Council, ) at its main session in March, and another to the General Assembly. In his most recent report submitted to the General Assembly (A/66/322), the Special Rapporteur focused on human rights concerns such as the right to food, violence against women, prison camps, the right to health, to water and to sanitation, freedom of opinion and expression, issues concerning humanitarian space for United Nations entities to operate in the country, and the protection concerns of asylum-seekers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 2. In the present report, besides providing an overview of the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Special Rapporteur proposes some key conclusions and recommendations for the State and the international community, particularly neighbouring countries. II. Methodology 3. The Special Rapporteur relied on numerous sources of information in order to ensure that the report reflects diverse ideas. He also attempted to contact non-governmental organizations and individuals with which has did not interact during his previous visits to the region. Since his appointment in August 2010, the Special Rapporteur has made numerous requests to visit the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In addition, he also requested meetings with officials of the Permanent Mission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, both in New York and in Geneva. None of his requests have received a favourable response. Most recently, since the succession of the leadership in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Special Rapporteur has approached the State authorities both for a meeting and a visit to the country, in the hope of a change in approach to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. 4. Since the presentation of his report to the General Assembly in October 2011, the Special Rapporteur has conducted two missions to the North-East Asia region: to the Republic of Korea, from21 to 25 November 2011, and to Japan, from 14 to 20 January 2012. The objective of his missions was to assess the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and its impact on neighbouring countries, such as the Republic of Korea and Japan. The report summarizes the Special Rapporteur’s observations and the information that he gathered during the field missions, with reports, interviews, briefing papers and other documents gathered by non-governmental organizations, United Nations offices and numerous other reliable sources. 5. During the Special Rapporteur’s mission to the Republic of Korea, he held meetings with the Deputy Minister for Multilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, members of the Inter-Parliamentarians’ Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights, the Director-General of the International Organizations Bureau and the Senior Policy Coordination Officer for the Unification Policy of the Ministry of Unification. He also had the opportunity to interact with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, national and international non-governmental organizations, diplomats and other relevant individuals. 3