A/HRC/13/47 B. Other basic necessities and related development 24. There has been a general decline of the health and education infrastructure. Hospitals are short of medicines, schools are short of textbooks and both are short of electricity. Despite the universal access to basic education claimed by the authorities, children often face stark realities at school, as discussed below. 25. The end of 2009 brought the worrying arrival of influenza A (H1N1), compounded by a shortage of medicines. It was also reported that families were being impeded from visiting people in detention for fear of spreading the disease.13 26. With regard to shelter, there were reports in 2009 of some 400,000 people being forcibly evicted in Pyongyang to make room for new construction. This was done without the participation and informed consent of the people affected, and was another example of the overbearing nature of the power base which often acts at its own whim and arbitrarily. 27. On another front, the results of a national census carried out under the auspices of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2008 were available at the beginning of 2010.14 It is now known that the population numbers just over 24 million people, with more women than men. The census provides demographic statistics which will enable the authorities to ensure that national development planning is more consonant with current realities. Data reveal specifics concerning the following classifications: “worker, officer, farmer”, although there is no mention of the private sector. Subject to further analysis, it remains to be seen to what extent the military was covered by the census; obviously, if military personnel were omitted, the census would be incomplete, despite generally good cooperation between UNFPA and the authorities. At the end of 2009, UNICEF completed its multi-cluster survey which will provide information on women and children in such areas as nutrition and shelter; the survey will appear shortly. 28. A strategic framework between all United Nations agencies will also have to be worked out in the near future to ensure close coordination on all major aspects of development. What should not be forgotten, however, is that the country is not poor but suffers from an inequitable development process caused by the failings of the authorities. It has more mineral resources than its southern neighbour. Its trade with another neighbour has been in the billions of dollars in the past few years. Yet, the resources of the country are misspent, misallocated and misused on the elite and the “military first” policy to the detriment of the populace. Such is the injustice – latent, patent and blatant. C. Personal security and freedoms 29. Given the oppressive nature of the power base, it is not difficult to surmise the range of abuses which happen on a daily basis and which threaten the personal security of individuals and families, compounded by other infringements of their rights and freedoms. 30. While some of the legislative reforms are constructive, such as the introduction of the principle of nullum crimen sine lege (according to which people should be criminalized only where the crimes are expressly stipulated in law) into the Criminal Code and related procedure code, the existence of laws and institutions is often a façade to cloak arbitrary 13 14 GE.10-10793 See North Korea Today, No. 318, December 2009, available from http://goodfriendsusa.blogspot. com/. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 2008 Population Census (Pyongyang, Central Bureau of Statistics, 2009). 9