A/HRC/13/47 48. Second, there are still stereotyped expectations which undermine women’s rights. For example, it is reported that women have to undergo virginity tests if they are to climb up the bureaucratic ladder.24 They are blamed for infertility.25 The wife of a political dissident is also pressured to divorce him. 49. Third, a large number of persons seeking asylum from the country are women. Earlier reports from the Special Rapporteur noted that many are subjected to multiple abuses “en route”, such as human trafficking and smuggling in their quest for safety in another country. 50. Fourth, reports are still being received of pregnant women, originally from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, who are returned from a neighbouring country where they had a sexual relationship with members of the local population, and who are then forced to abort by the authorities of the country of origin. 51. Fifth, a large number of those suffering from malnutrition and the consequences of food shortages are women and children. 52. With regard to children, a host of obstacles obstruct the realization of their rights and this is well documented in a study entitled Child is King of the Country,26 in the discussions on child rights before the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the ensuing concluding observations from the Committee in 2009. The rampant presence of stunting is a testament to the prolonged malnutrition affecting children in the country and the linkage with the food crisis. The plight of street children is made worse by the act of putting them in various State institutions which are not child sensitive. Triplets are reported to be separated from parents at birth and are institutionalized, at least for the initial period of their existence. 53. Children at school, particularly middle school, are also forced to work by the authorities on State projects, such as collective farms, and parents are punished if the children do not contribute. The use of children to farm poppy (a plant linked with opium) has been cited by various sources. They are forced to watch public executions and are mobilized for the army (as Red Young Guards) as part of the State propaganda machine. They are persecuted if one of their family members is a dissident or a refugee, and suffer the consequences of collective punishment or guilt by association. Juvenile justice is sadly lacking in a system that incarcerates children all too easily in substandard institutions and that instrumentalizes children for political ends. 54. With regard to the treatment of persons with disabilities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, after much criticism from the international community, the country introduced a new law to ensure help for them. Yet, due to the consequences of prolonged discrimination, such as the previous practices of keeping the streets clear of persons with disabilities and locking them up in various closed wards, such persons need sustained action to ensure their recovery and social reintegration, with adequate supports. 55. The destiny of elderly persons who are not part of the elite has been particularly battered by the food crisis and the decline of State social welfare. Further measures are needed to integrate them into food provisioning and social protection. 24 25 26 GE.10-10793 Open News for North Korea, 19 October 2009, available from http://nkradio.cafe24.com/bbs/view. php?id=public_news_eng&page=1&sn1+&divpage=...10/19/2009. Ibid. Child is King of the Country (Seoul, Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights/Life and Human Rights Books, 2009); Citizen’s Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR), “Child is King of the Country”, NKHR Briefing Report No. 3, Seoul, 2009. 13