A/HRC/13/47 national Constitution, the words “human rights” were inserted into the text.2 Yet, it seems that this country’s notion of human rights is much related to the protection of the Statecum-elite and the rejection of external threats, rather than the human-centric notion of universal human rights. As a response to international influence, there have been some law reforms, such as periodic adjustments of the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code, and new policies such as those concerning the development of children. 10. However, the more constructive side of developments is undermined by the omnipotent State seeking to prop up a regime which is out of sync with the general population and which tries to perpetuate its survival at the cost of the people. The general scenario is bleak for a variety of reasons. First, the non-democratic — indeed totalitarian — nature of the power base has created a pervasive “State of fear” or “State as one big prison” for the mass base which is not part of the elite, with inordinate constraints imposed on the rights and freedoms of the people. The power base does not tolerate dissent; indeed, it suppresses it with all the might of the State. 11. Second, society suffers an extensive surveillance and informant system, leading to political dystopia. Practices to instil fear among the population are rampant, including public executions, torture, collective punishments, and mistreatment of women and children. They have given rise to poignant nomenclature such as “pigeon torture” and “airplane torture”.3 12. Third, the national resources are distorted in favour of militarization and the ruling elite. This is most evident in regard to the expenditure on the nuclearization process, a development castigated by the international community through various United Nations resolutions.4 This mis-expenditure has not only depleted the national budget, which should have been spent on the welfare of the population, but it has also compromised international peace and security. As a testament to the latter, various sanctions have been imposed by the Security Council. On the home front, the mention of human rights in the Constitution is illusory, as the Constitution also now entrenches a “military first” policy. The preferred orientation, namely “people first”, is absent from both the text and reality. 13. The litany of anomalies and abuses is identified in greater detail in the following section concerning aspects of the situation. III. Aspects: dimensions of the situation A. Food and livelihood 14. The relationship between the authorities and the general population from the inception of the regime, half a century ago, had been based upon control of the population through a dependency system, whereby the people were given food rations by the State through a public distribution system. However, the system collapsed in the 1990s, 2 3 4 6 Choe Sang-Hun, “New North Korean constitution bolsters Kim’s power”, New York Times, 29 September 2009. The Reality of Human Rights in North Korea (Seoul, Citizens’ Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees, 2009), p. 16: “The Pigeon Torture where prisoners are handcuffed to an iron bar with their hands behind their backs and left unable to sit or stand, causing every muscle of their bodies to become stiff, and the Airplane Torture where prisoners are beaten with their hands and feet tied behind them and their bodies strung up so that they hang against the ground, are among the tortures suffered by many repatriated North Korean defectors.” Most recently, resolution 1874 of the Security Council (2009). GE.10-10793