A/HRC/4/15 page 12 E. Vulnerability: rights concerning specific groups 29. The previous reports of the Special Rapporteur dealt with the concerns of various groups which may be especially vulnerable in particular situations. This is the case of the women and children who are not part of the elite in the country of origin, bearing in mind the cross-cutting nature of women’s rights. 30. A key dilemma is that the proportion of those seeking refuge are women and many have been subjected to human smuggling and/or human trafficking. There may be various reasons for this phenomenon. First, smugglers and traffickers are deliberating targeting women. Some male refugees interviewed by the Special Rapporteur indicated that the exploiters prefer to smuggle women rather than men, thus making it difficult for male refugees to seek the help of intermediaries. Second, it is believed that neighbouring countries are less likely to punish women for illegal entry. Third, the intermediaries feel that women are more likely to fulfil their “contractual obligation” to pay for the services rendered upon arrival in the destination country. Fourth, while the earlier caseloads were men, the current caseload may partly be the wives or families of the men who left some time ago and who seek family reunification. (In one case recounted to the Special Rapporteur in 2006, the wife worked in a cemetery in the first asylum country before following her husband to the final destination country.) Fifth, the shortage of women for marriage in some areas exerts a pull factor for the trafficking of women, and this may also imply more lax law enforcement against the women in question. However, there are a number of ensuing complications such as whether the local authorities are willing to register the children of the marriage. 31. On another front, one final destination country is now facing the issue of whether women refugees should be allowed to remarry after a period of time in the country, in the event that reunification with their husbands who remain in the country of origin becomes unlikely. 32. With regard to children, a recent situation analysis of the situation of women and children in the country recognizes some constructive features of State policies, such as 11 years’ compulsory and free education.11 33. However, the problem lies in the quality of education, which is further hampered by the decline in school facilities. Education is also a key instrument of indoctrination of the population, with children utilized for political ends from a young age, including through rigid control over nurseries and kindergartens through extensive State involvement in childcare. 34. Various issues concerning child survival, development, protection and participation still need more effective responses from the authorities in the country of origin. Access to food remains a key concern, as highlighted in the above section on sustenance. Child protection and participation are tested greatly where the children face situations of violence, deprivation, neglect and abuse, especially where the children do not belong to the elite. This is linked with 11 Analysis of the Situation of Children and Women in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, see note 1 above, p. 54.