Especially in the absence of accountability of such violations. With the publication of the seminal report and the initial initial the as evidence of the Human Rights Violations being committed. Report is deeply disturbing and compels a response. The commissions findings highlight a deliberate strategy to control the population to secure its hold on power. The Program Seeks to instill national hatred, constituting incitement to discrimination, andility, violence, propaganda for war. The report lays clear lays bare the tools of control, including the denial of access to basic human needs. Food, water, heating, shelter,. Ork the massive humanitarian catastrophe that has resulted from the scale of the reign of terror has affected all of the s neighbors. Prk there is restriction on freedom of expression. One person said no one would dare object to the harsh living isditions, and protest equivalent to death. The citizens are forced to denounce conduct seen by the regime as a threat. Family members must report on each other. Harsh punishment, even summary executions for those who do not comply. The stream demilitarization has come devastating cost. The north korean extreme demilitarization has come at a devastating cost. They have mass starvation and deprivation. The commission estimates the 25 of Gross National product to defense expenditure, and the Commission Also find mount attrition and starvation could have been avoided through a marginal distribution of state military spending. The Commission Found and entrenched pattern of discrimination based on the harsh class system, which is systematically applied to against control perceived threats. The extreme restrictions on freedom of movement within north korea and across its borders are designed to maximize state control. Punishment for violations are severe, often vicious, and humane. Women who are subjected to horrific discrimination resort to international traffickers to escape. The torture they endured as they returned cannot be regarded as a fully domestic concern. One of the cruelest policies of the regime is the system of arbitrary detention and political prison camps. An estimated 80,002 120,000 are 80,000 to 120,000 are committed without trial. The Commission Found the majority had no prospect of ever being released. Summary executions and other cruel extradition to show extrajudicial punishments are met out. The limited information create the specter of fear among the general population, creating a deterrent to future challenges. The Commission Found the information it received establishing crimes have been committed pursuant to policies at the highest level of the state. We strongly support the commissions conclusion that the International Community must its responsibility to protect the people of north korea from crimes against humanity, because the dprk government has manifestly failed to do so. The gravity, scale, and nature of these Human Rights Violations this thing which is north korea as a state that has no parallel distinguish north korea as a state that has no parallels. Is clearly shared by the majority of you in states who adopted resolution 69188 and the assembly, which submitted the report to this counsel for consideration and action. This is broad recognition by the human membership this counsel has a responsibility on this issue, including to assure accountability for the crimes being committed. These crimes are integral components of the political system. We must assume crimes against humanity will continue if there is no international response. The core element of the commissions mandate was to ensure accountability for Human Rights Violations. In particular if such violations amounted to crimes against humanity. The commission asked this counsel to refer the situation through the International Criminal court. The General Assembly has called on the council to consider this recommendation. Australia believes the crimes against humanity documented in the commissions report or the attention of the International Criminal court in the absence of any move criminal court. The council should consider this recommendation. The north korean regime does have the power to change its behavior. Most of the commissions recommendations are directed towards the dprk itself. Of dprks recent indications a reported willingness to cooperate were welcome, but those offers have been withdrawn, and there has been no sign of any internal reform. Has respondedprk for the General Assemblys call for it to engage on human rights issues by denouncing the call and indicating it would engage in further hostile acts. Response to human rights criticism with threats to use Nuclear Weapons, it only human rights criticism with threats to use Nuclear Weapons, it only threatens peace and security. Recent Cyber Attacks have been threatened to the dprk. This is another example of the extraterritorial reach of their crimes along with the abductions of foreign nationals and demonstrates the extent to which defy prepared to International Norms and aggressively seek to destabilize other countries and international commerce. The International Communitys message to the regime is direct. Course. Change it can take steps immediately to put an end to all systematic widespread and gross Human Rights Violations perpetrated in this country, which only further weaken the north Korean People and the stability of the state itself. It can commit to cooperate with the International Community by extending full cooperation to the special reporter on the situation of human rights in the dprk, including by granting full mpeded access to the bp rk access toy allowing agencies. Were are humane options, and will continue the press to embrace them. Those were alluded to a moment ago, but in the meantime, we are realistic about the brutal koreants from the north people and what needs to be done to provide them a measure of protection. We continue to look to those countries that have most influence on north korea, including those in the north asian region and other partners to continue to press the case for fundamental change to the dprk state apparatus. We know this will not be easy. To conclude, mr. President , the Security Council must also have up to its responsibilities in absence of action by the regime, particularly in relation to accountability for crimes against humanity. Given the scales of Human Rights Violations and their link to peace and security, it is remainsl the council aware. The council must give serious consideration to further action in my take. Of their region and globally. Thank you. I think the representative of australia for his statement the representative of australia for his statement. To theive the floor representative from the United States. Thank you. Thank you for your informative and appropriately bleak briefings. And for the ongoing attention your respective teams give to in situation in the dprk spite of persistent obstacles put up or the north korean government. Todays meeting reflects the councilconsensus among members and u. N. Member states that the widespread and systematic Human Rights Violations omitted by the north korean government are not only ,eplorable in their own right but also pose a threat to international these and security. A major impetus for taking up this issue was the comprehensive report issued in february of 2014 commission of inquiry. The commission of inquiry conducted more than 200 confidential interviews with victims, eyewitnesses, and former officials and held public hearings in which more than 80 witnesses gave testimony. Witness accounts were corroborated by other forms of evidence such as satellite imagery confirming the location of prison camps. North korea denied access to the country consistent with its policy of routinely denying to humanitarian groups, including the red cross. Despite repeated requests, the dprk refused to cooperate with the inquiry. The main finding of the thorough objective report is the systematic and gross Human Rights Violations have been and are being committed by the democratic peoples republic of korea. The Commission Found the evidence it gathered to provide reasonable grounds to determine crimes against humanity have been committed in the democratic peoples republic of korea pursuant to hollis is established at the highest level of the state. Policies established at the highest level of the state. If you have not read from the hundreds of pages of transcripts from the public hearings, i urge you to do so. A show north korea for what it is, a living nightmare. A former prisoner of prison camp 15 said she and other prisoners were so famished they picked dungels of corn from the of cattle to eat. She said, if there was a day we were able to have mouse, that was a special diet for us. We had to eat everything alive, every type of meat we could find, everything that flew or crawled on the ground, any grass that grew on the field. A former ground at guard at prison camp 22 spoke of guards routinely raping residents. In one case in which a victim became pregnant and gave birth, the former guard reported officials cooked her baby and fed it to their dogs. And sounds unbelievable unthinkable, yet this is what a former guard told the commission of inquiry at a public hearing. His account fits a pattern across witness testimonies of sadistic punishments netted out to prisoners whose crime was being raped by officials. The commission estimates between are being,000 people held in prison camps like the one where so many of these crimes occurred. Many who testified before the commission were punished for trying to flee north korea. One man who was sent back from inna described being held prison camps that were only around 50 centimeters high, just over a foot and a half. He said the guards told him because the prisoners were animals they would have to crawl like animals. A woman told how her brother was caught after fleeing to china. When he was returned, north korean Security Officials bound his hands and change them to the back of a truck for dragging him roughly 45 kilometers, driving three loops around the city so everyone could see. His sister testified. When he fell down, they kept driving. Nor are the horrors listen limited to risen camps or those who try to flee. The Commission Found in almost ofplete and ill to right freedom of thought, conscience, or religion as well as freedom complete denial of the right of the freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. They Even Commission expressed a resolution of concern and roundly condemning the widespread and gross violations of human rights. Voted inr states favor, 20 against, and 53 abstain. The resolution encourage the Security Council to take appropriate action to ensure accountability, including through consideration of referral of the situation in the democratic peoples republic of korea to the court and consideration of the scope for effective targeted sanctions against those who appear to be most responsible. The Security Council should itsnd the dprk change practices, which illustrate a fundamental disregard for human rights and constitute a threat to International Peace and security. We should take this on for three reasons. Response toprks the report and even to the prospect of todays session show the criticisme to of the human rights record. Just look at all the strategies north korea has tried to distract attention from the to delegitimize its findings and avoid scrutiny of its human rights record. Its machine,ed up claiming the most advantageous human rights system. Tried to spare the reputations of hundreds of people who were brave enough to speak out about the abuses they suffered, calling them human ofm bereft of an iota conscience. This was in a statement north korea said to the Security Council today. North korea launched slurs against the commissions distinguished chairman, justice kirby. The point threats, saying any efforts to hold it more accountable would be met with catastrophic consequences. Koreas responses, the threats, the smears, the cynical diversions show the government feels the need to defend its abysmal human rights record. Thats why our attention is so important. The second argument for exerting pressure is when regimes warn of deadly reprisals against countries that condemn the atrocities, thats precisely the moment we need to stand up and not back down. Dictators who see threats are an effective tool for silencing the community tend to be emboldened, not placated. Rightslds true for human violators around the world who are watching how the Human Rights Council response to the dprks threats. Is already shockingly cavalier about dishing out threats of staging Nuclear Attacks and has routinely imposed byhibitions o the Security Council. In july, they threatened to launch Nuclear Weapons at the white house and the pentagon, and in march of 2013 they threatened a preemptive strike on the United States, saying, everything will be reduced to ashes and flames. In the most recent example of its recklessness the dprk carried out a significant cyber attack in response to a Hollywood Comedy portraying a farcical assassination plot. The attack destroyed systems and personal and commercial data from Sony Pictures, not only damaging a private sector entity but affecting countless americans who work for the company. The attackers also threatened employees, actors in the film, movie theaters, and even people who dared to go to the theaters showing the movie, warning them to remember the 11th of september. With denying freedom of expression to its own people, the north korean regime seems intent on suppressing the exercise of its fundamental freedom in our nation. North korea threatened the United States with serious consequences if our country did not conduct a joint investigation into an attack they carried out. This is absurd. Yet it is exactly the kind of behavior we have come to expect from a regime that threatened to take merciless countermeasures against the u. S. Over Hollywood Comedy and has no qualms about holding tens of thousands of people in harrowing gulags. We cannot give in to threats or intimidation of any kind. Third, the International Community does not need to choose between focusing on north koreas proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and focusing on widespread and ongoing abuses against its own people. Thats a false choice. We must do both. As we have seen throughout history, the way countries treat their own citizens, particularly those countries that systematically commit atrocities against their own people tends to align closely with the way they treat other countries and the norms of our shared international system. On november 23, a week after the u. N. Committee adopted its dprk resolution, north koreas military said all those involved severe punishment and warned of catastrophic consequences. Would imply the more than 100 Member States who voted for the resolution. The military said if japan continued behaving as now, it will disappear from the world country threatens Nuclear Annihilation because it receives criticism of how it treats its own people, can there be any doubt regarding the connection of the human rights record and International Peace and security . North korea did not want to meet and opposed the human rights situation being added to the agenda. If the dprk wants to be taken off the agenda, it can start by following the recommendations to acknowledge systematic violations it continues to commit, immediately dismantle free andmps, allow unfettered access by independent human rights observers, and hold accountable those most responsible for systematic. Iolations knowing the improbability of north korea making those and the list of changes, it is incumbent on the council to consider the recommendation the situation in north korea be referred to the International Criminal court and to consider other action on accountability as 116 u. N. Member states have urged the council to do. In the meantime, the united dates will support the efforts of the office of the commission for human rights to establish a field race office to continue investigating Human Rights Violations as well as to support the works of a special repertory reporter. It is also crucial all of dprks neighbors abide by the principle, given the horrific abuses North Koreans are subjected to upon return and in theirccess countries. The United States will continue to welcome north Korean Refugees to our country and help provide assistance to north korean Asylum Seekers in other countries. It is reasonable to debate the most effective strategy to end th