COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD EXAMINES REPORT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today reviewed the combined third and fourth periodic report of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Introducing the report, Ri Tcheul, Permanent Representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that, since its foundation, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had invariably attached great importance to children and had been making continued efforts to bring up children as masters of the future intellectually, morally and physically matured by giving full play to the system of ongoing universal compulsory free education and free medical care. The period covered by the report – 2001 to 2007 – had been a difficult one for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, characterized by an extremely tense situation and manifold economic difficulties due to factors related to external forces' policy of stifling their country. Breaking through the prevailing difficulties, the Government and people had made a devoted struggle for the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation full of confidence and optimism, while ensuring that the rights of children and their welfare were given the deep attention of the State and the whole society.
In preliminary concluding observations, Lothar Krappmann, Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, wanted to know to what extent the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea took account of the best interests of the child and groups of children; to what extent the views of children were given due weight; and to what extent the development of children was given priority status. Among positive developments they had learned of today were that there was no death penalty for children; no pregnant women in prison; and that there were no longer any reformatory centres for children. With regard to healthcare and education systems, though those were comprehensive and well staffed, the quality within those systems often seemed to be a problem. Recommendations would include that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea consider introducing independent monitoring institutions, child protection services, and a juvenile justice system.
Other Experts raised a series of concerns and questions pertaining to, among others, a complaint mechanism for children; whether there were non-governmental organizations in the country advocating for children; freedom of expression for children; a lack or progress in the ratification of international instruments related to the Convention, in particular the Optional Protocols, the International Labour Organization conventions regulating child labour and the Hague Convention on adoption; reports of infanticide for children born with disabilities; what alternatives to institutional care were available for children deprived of parental care; whether there were specialized juvenile courts; and what was done with children who were found guilty of crimes, given the statement in the report that there were no children in prisons.
The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the combined third and fourth periodic report of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 30 January 2009.
The delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea also included other representatives from the Department of Legislation of the Supreme People's Assembly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Permanent Mission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Geneva.
As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of the treaty. The delegation was on hand throughout the day to present the report and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.
When the Committee reconvenes on Monday, 26 January, at 10 a.m., it will consider the initial report of Maldives under the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC/C/OPAC/MDV/1). It will hear Maldives report under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography on Monday afternoon.
Report of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
The combined third and fourth periodic report of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (CRC/C/PRK/4) states that the Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities was adopted on 18 June 2003 and contains the fundamentals of the law, rehabilitation, education, cultural life and work and employment of children with disabilities, as well as matters related to persons with responsibility for guidance and control. In particular, this law provides for the protection of persons with disabilities, including ensuring respect for the personal dignity of such persons, provision of their rights, freedoms and interests on an equal basis with others, systematic increase of investments for their protection, and ensuring social benefits to persons with disabilities. To ensure its successful implementation, the Korean Association for Supporting the Disabled was upgraded to become the Central Committee of the Korean Federation for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities in July 2005, which is now coordinating implementation. A work programme for 2008-2010 of the Central Committee is now being drafted under the guidance of the Cabinet, the core of which is to further reinforce the economic foundation of prosthetic factories and surgery for enhancing the level of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, equip the educational and boarding facilities of blind, deaf and dumb children on modern lines and build barrier-free houses satisfying international standards. All children with disabilities except for the blind, the deaf and dumb are learning and living on an equal basis with others without discrimination of any kind, and are well integrated into society thanks to the widespread display of the beautiful traits of helping and supporting them.
A major achievement during the reporting period is that the economic foundations of child-related health service sector have been strengthened and the overall health standard of children has taken the turn for the better. Child mortality rates decreased during the period under review as compared to the period covered by the second periodic report (with the infant mortality rate dropping from 21.8 per 1,000 in 2000 to 20 in 2005; and the under-five mortality rate decreasing during the same period from 47.6 to 40 per 1,000). Relevant measures were also adopted in response to recommendations to increase health expenditure; reduce infant, child and maternal mortality rates; and prevent and treat diarrhoea and other communicative diseases. For instance, in 2005, 6.44 per cent of the total State budget was allocated for public health as compared to 5.9 per cent in 2000. All the medical and preventive institutions for primary health care were supplied with modern obstetric and paediatric instruments and essential drugs. Effective measures were also taken to address the problem of child disease and malnutrition, with rice and nutritious foods supplied to children under four years of age, and soybean milk, cow’s milk, goat’s milk and other dairy products supplied to all the children at nurseries, kindergartens and schools every day.
Presentation of Report
RI TCHEUL, Permanent Representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the United Nations Office at Geneva, introducing the report, said that, over the past 60 years since its foundation, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had invariably maintained the policy of attaching great importance to children and had been making continued efforts to bring up children as masters of the future intellectually, morally and physically matured by giving full play to the system of ongoing universal compulsory free education and free medical care.
The period covered by the report – 2001 to 2007 – had been a difficult one for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, characterized by an extremely tense situation and manifold economic difficulties due to factors related to external forces' policy of stifling their country, Mr. Ri noted. Breaking through the prevailing difficulties, the Government and people had made a devoted struggle for the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation full of confidence and optimism, while ensuring that the rights of children and their welfare were given the deep attention of the State and the whole society.
In implementing the Convention, the Government had given particular attention to the consolidation of the legislative and institutional guarantees of the rights of children, as well as to promote their welfare and to create the material and social conditions to do so. In that regard, during the reporting period, the Government had made great efforts to make the system of free health care effective and had energetically carried out activities to implement basic government health policies, in particular with regard to children. As the Government considered education as the fundamental question determining the future of the country and its prosperity, it had also taken practical measures to ensure the good functioning of its system of free compulsory education, Mr. Ri observed.
Mr. Ri concluded by saying the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was fully conscious of the challenges and difficulties that it faced. However, in the future as in the past, the Government would hold fast to its principles of ensuring the best for children, including through strengthening the system for ensuring human rights, of which the system of free compulsory education and free medical care for all was the base.
Questions by Experts
LUCY SMITH, Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said that the lack of transparency in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regarding the life of the children made it difficult for the Committee to have solid and correct information regarding to what extent the Government fulfilled all its obligations under the Convention. The report did not acknowledge many problems, but it still noted that there were many challenges with regard to children's welfare.
For example, Ms. Smith asked if there were any serious severe natural catastrophes or other major challenges regarding the implementation of the Convention since the report had been written, such as the severe floods in August 2007.
Ms. Smith was further concerned that several of the Committee's prior recommendations had not been followed up, including in the areas of data collection, allocation of resources, health, education, and children and military service.
In that connection, Ms. Smith asked when the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea would consider enacting a comprehensive legal act regarding all children's rights?
With regard to non-discrimination, Ms. Smith said that information from several sources indicated that that principle might not be fully respected with regard to children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. In particular, was the right to non-discrimination fully respected with regard to girl children, children with disabilities, children in institutions and street children?
A further related concern was the distribution of social services and food evenly across the country. The Committee had received information that children faced discrimination with regard to access to food, health and education, on the basis of their parents' political or other opinions, because of their social or ethnic origin, or because their parents had been in conflict with the law. Specifically, could the Committee have more information on the distribution of international assistance, intended for the most vulnerable groups, and whether it actually reached them?
Other concerns voice by Ms. Smith included the relatively high rate of child malnutrition, and a consequent high rate of stunting, and the situation of children living in institutions, and she asked for more information on those topics.
LOTHAR KRAPPMANN, Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, raised the issue of data collection and data disaggregation, saying that while some progress was visible, data were still rare. This was even the case in areas were the country was apparently in excellent shape – for example, with regard to enrolment, which was 100 per cent, gender parity, although that was perfect, on the economy, poverty and on HIV/AIDS. How could the Government monitor the implementation of the rights of children without reliable data?
Those data were also the base for budgetary allocations, Mr. Krappmann pointed out, and thus they had to conclude that many institutions that were important for children were underfinanced, including in the sectors of education, health services and residential care for children separated from their parents. He also had the impression that the military was not at all underfinanced. While that certainly reflected the Government's assessment of the endangered position of the country, in ratifying the Convention the Government accepted the obligation to make the best interest of children a primary consideration.
Finally, Mr. Krappmann asked about the status of the many organizations which were mentioned in the report as assisting the Government in implementation of the Convention. Were they non-governmental organizations? The Committee was missing supplemental reports from non-governmental organizations on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Other Experts then raised a series of questions pertaining to, among other things, further information on the National Coordination Committee for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including its membership, frequency of meetings, and level of influence; whether there was a complaints mechanism for children; whether an independent monitoring mechanism existed for the implementation of the Convention; whether NGOs in the country acted as children's advocates; the situation with regard to freedom of expression for children, for example, whether adolescents were allowed to dress differently; a lack or progress in the ratification of international instruments related to the Convention, in particular the Optional Protocols, International Labour Organization conventions regulating child labour and the Hague Convention on adoption; reports that babies born with disabilities were killed; and the situation of refugee children and protections for their rights.
Response by the Delegation
RI TCHEUL, Permanent Representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that, while some questions asked by Experts had genuinely related to the rights of children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, others had been asked from an unfriendly or a prejudiced or biased point of view. It was hoped that this meeting would not be the occasion for debating the truth of the statements made by the delegation, relying on fabricated misinformation from lying sources.
As everyone knew, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was a small country that was constantly threatened by larger powers. Rather than accusing the lawmakers and jurists on the delegation, it was hoped that the Committee members would promote a constructive dialogue for the well being of children's rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
KANG YUN SOK, Director-General of the Department of Legislation of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Chairman of the National Coordination Committee for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, providing further information on the National Coordination Committee, said that it was composed of a Chairman and five Vice Chairpersons: the Vice Minister of Education, the Vice Minister of Health, the First Secretary of the Youth League, the Vice Chairperson of the Women's Union, and the Vice Director of the General Statistics Bureau. The National Coordination Committee was a non-standing body under the Constitution, with a five-year term of office. Among its responsibilities were to formulate measures for the promotion and protection of child rights and children's welfare; monitoring of the implementation of the Convention; and coordination of activities by relevant ministries. Its powers were to formulate legislation conducive to the implementation of the Convention or to repeal, or amend other legislation. It also cooperated closely with the foreign coordinating committee. The National Coordination Committee had a plenary session at least twice a year and permanent sessions in between those meetings.
The Secretariat of the National Coordination Committee was responsible, among others, for the gathering of statistics and the preparation of reports for the plenary meetings, Mr. Kang said. The National Coordination Committee had held a serious discussion on the recommendations of the Committee following its consideration of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea's second periodic report. With regard to the establishment of a single governmental body responsible for children's rights and welfare, that issue had been debated in the National Coordination Committee, which had reached the conclusion that it was more beneficial and conducive to the implementation of the Convention to further enhance the role of the existing mechanism. Accordingly, the Coordination Committee took serious efforts to further enhance the role and responsibilities of child-related ministries.
On the definition of the child, Mr. Kang said that there was a one-year gap between the age of majority in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which was 17, and the age set under the Convention, 18. That age had been set following a consideration of the physical and mental development of children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as well as traditional practice in the country. Children completed secondary education in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by age 16 or 17. Children also received the right to vote and be elected at 17.
As for the Committee's protection concerns, Mr. Kang noted that minors could not be sentenced to death. The age of criminal responsibility depended on the age at which the crime was committed.
Mr. Kang noted that there were only three social groups recognized in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: workers, peasants and intellectuals. The idea that children's rights, including the right to education, were based on the status of their parents was completed groundless. All children were subject to 11 years' of free compulsory education and were then admitted to colleges and universities based on scholastic aptitude; the status of their parents was irrelevant.
No restrictions were applied to children based on which category they fell into: workers, peasants or intellectuals. There was also no problem with regard to minority children. With regard to school curricula, there was no difference between boys and girls, which had been one of the Experts' concerns.
As for data collection, the Government, working in close collaboration with UNICEF, was planning to increase its capacity with regard to data collection, Mr. Kang noted.
On budgetary expenditures in areas related to children, in 2008, 8 per cent of the budget had been allocated for education and 6.5 per cent for public health. It should be realized that those numbers did not reflect the full amount spent in those sectors. For example, the repair of school buildings or construction of new schools fell under a separate budget line. Thus, overall expenditure for the welfare of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea citizens accounted for 40 per cent of the budget, Mr. Kang underscored.
Turning to legislation, a draft law on the protection of the rights of the child was now being prepared in the relevant ministries, Mr. Kang said.
With regard to a child complaints system, Mr. Kang noted that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea already had a well arranged complaints system from the centre to the grassroots level. Every Ministry, institution, enterprise and organization had a complaints box for petitioners, in compliance with legal requirements. In addition, all the People's Security Offices had a complaints department and where a branch office was not present an official was designated to handle complaints. Children under 14 could lodge complaints, either directly or through their parents or guardians, which had to be duly registered and were then investigated. The final settlement of complaints was handled by the Complaints Committee, which met once a month.
Responding to follow-up questions, Mr. Kang noted that the subject of complaints received were varied, including violations of rights, when civil servants were not fulfilling their responsibility. He did not know the total number of complaints received. If the complaint was urgent and if the complainer needed immediate settlement, he went directly to the official responsible for settling complaints. For example, if a schoolchild wished to complain of an infringement of his rights by his teacher, he could complain to the teacher's union, which had the responsibility for implementing the Convention and its principles. Children were not liable if it was discovered their complaints had been groundless. When there was inconsistency between the two versions, the child's and the teacher's, it was up to the official in charge to determine the facts.
Further Questions by Experts
During the second round of questions, Ms. Smith, the Rapporteur, asked what the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was doing to ensure that institutionalization of children was only used as a last recourse, for example, by directly strengthening families in precarious situations?
There were still many children in institutions, Ms. Smith observed, and more information was needed. Were these children primarily orphans? Moreover, she was concerned by reports that the food shortage had made it difficult for institutions to provide children with the necessary food, and that a high percentage of children in institutions were stunted.
On issues of rest and leisure, Ms. Smith asked what facilities and programmes there were for children to participate in leisure activities, including sports, in particular in the areas outside of the capital and major cities.
Mr. Krappmann, the co-Rapporteur for the report, cited the many positive indicators with regard to education, but also noted that the report admitted an attendance problem and that other sources had maintained that school attendance had dropped in recent years, seasonally less than 80 per cent in some regions owing to economic hardship and child labour. He asked for more information in this area and on plans to address the situation.
Another form of absenteeism was that children were repeatedly away from learning, including when they were ordered to do work in the fields, or when national festivities were planned. Mr. Krappmann had heard that those activities often took weeks and were very physically demanding. Had the Government considered the impact of such officially ordered work on the quality of children's education?
The report also noted that teachers might be absent, because other work was more urgent, and Mr. Krappmann asked for more information on that situation.
Mr. Krappmann was furthermore disturbed by reports that textbooks widely presented a very militaristic approach, with examples, stories and pictures taken from that context.
Other Experts asked further questions on topics including, among others, whether there was a separate adolescent health programme in place; what programmes existed for child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse; whether there was a helpline for child victims of sexual abuse or exploitation; and concerns at reports that children worked on State opium farms and whether there was any monitoring in place for such farms.
On children deprived of parental care, what alternatives to institutional care were available, an Expert asked? Was there a tradition of extended family caring for children or a foster care system in place? Also, what were the alternatives for parents found guilty of abuse rather than penal sanctions and imprisonment – i.e. parent training, and other forms of family assistance?
Other questions included whether there were specialized juvenile courts; reports of a widespread phenomenon of street children, who were badly treated, and what programmes were in place for them; what was done with children who were found guilty of crimes, given the statement in the report that there were no children in prisons, i.e. were there alternative facilities; an over involvement of the State in family affairs; whether there had been a change in the prior policy that children from multiple births, such as triplets, were taken away from their mothers and given into care by the State; and laws on adoption. An Expert also pointed out the low penalties for crimes against children (under 2 years for a kindergarten worker causing death and under 5 years for rape of a minor under 15, according to the report) and an apparent discrepancy in the penalties imposed (i.e. higher penalty for rape than for death).
Response by Delegation
Responding to those and other questions, Mr. Kang said the age of criminal responsibility was 14 years, which meant that a minor over 14 and under 17 was criminally liable. Children between those ages who were found guilty of a crime were committed to public education measures. He believed that those measures were unique to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Adults who were found guilty of crimes because of ignorance or negligence could also be sentenced to public education measures.
A child's school or family had the responsibility for imposing public education measures. The school or the parents closely watched the child and did not deprive him of his liberty. There were three types of public education measures. Generally, they were allowed to stay with their family. The maximum period for the investigation was one month. At the stage of court hearing, the Public Prosecutor or the Presiding Judge gave judgement. The child stayed with his family during the investigation as well. Up to the 1960s there was a reformatory for juveniles, but as society developed and conditions improved the number of juvenile delinquency cases had decreased. Today, the only reformatory centres in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were for adults. No children were born in prison and no pregnant women were kept in prison.
Clarifying further, Mr. Kang said that a child found guilty of a crime was not treated any differently than other children. For those over 17 but not yet 18, such persons would be criminally liable, but in respect for the Convention, crimes committed by that age group were considered "extenuated".
Another member of the delegation, responding on the issue of nationality, said that the Citizens' Birth Registration Law provided for birth registration at the People's Security Office within 15 days' of birth. There was no legal penalty for late registration, but as children could only receive social services once they were duly registered, there was almost no evasion of birth registration.
The nationality law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea applied both jus solis and jus sanguinis. Therefore, all children born on the territory of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea received Korean citizenship. This was not a complicated issue in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the delegation noted. There were only a few cases, perhaps only five Chinese citizens each year, of persons who applied to acquire Korean citizenship.
Concerning children born abroad, they could be registered as Korean at embassies, consulates or other official channels. That held true if either one of the parents was a Korean national, the delegation affirmed.
Regarding international assistance, those materials went to the people that most needed them, the delegation confirmed. Special attention was given to assuring they reached vulnerable groups, and the principle of the best interest of the child was applied. Organizations such as the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and UNICEF were mostly involved in providing assistance to children. WHO conducted maternal and child health programmes and the United Nations Population Fund, in collaboration with the Government, had conducted a population census in 2007.
As to whether assistance for international organizations was evenly distributed throughout the country, the delegation noted that the area of Pyongyang was in most cases excluded from receiving assistance or aid for international organizations
Concerning accession to the Optional Protocols to the Convention, serious internal discussions had occurred on that issue on several occasions. Some felt, however, that it might not be a good idea to expose their people to bad things. In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea there was no sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Moreover, there was no armed conflict in the country and the Government did not send children to fight in other countries. Many people in the Administration said that while the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was denounced or "named and shamed" by virtue of the resolution on the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, why should they join such international instruments? That did not mean that they would not accede to the two Protocols. The discussions were still ongoing, and the delegation was hopeful that a positive outcome could be expected.
Regarding the ILO Conventions, while they covered important issues in the labour sphere, there was not really a need for them as there was no child labour or forced labour in the country. Moreover, the structure of those Conventions was a bit strange for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea society, as it referred to private enterprises and labour unions, for example.
Things such as killing of mothers or babies with disabilities, that was just not the case in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the delegation said that it just could not agree with such claims.
Turning to the situation of refugees, the delegation said it did not accept that term "refugees". Perhaps persons from non-governmental organizations had presented such deformed or distorted ideas about these people. They were not refugees. They were economic migrants. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had long borders. Several natural disasters had hit the country since the 1990s and some organizations involved in what they called human rights activities tried to induce citizens into other countries and used them as a tool for anti-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea propaganda. Returnee (he would not say refugee) children were sent home to their parents or relatives. The same was true of adults.
Concerning sexual crimes, there were no cases on the books of someone having committed rape against a minor under 15 years of age.
Regarding adolescent health, the delegation noted that the mortality rate for that age group was low. However, it was necessary for children of that age to learn healthy practices for the rest of their life. For that reason, the Government had a health programme with special emphasis on that age group, with a special focus on reproductive health. Associated with those programmes were awareness-raising campaigns on the need for healthy and secure environments for adolescents.
About three years ago, in cooperation with UNICEF, the Government conducted surveys to discover what problems adolescents were facing. It became clear that many adolescents were worried about the way their bodies were changing and were shy about talking about their fears and concerns. To address that situation, doctors and nurses were provided with in-service training related to adolescent issues and a programme was developed to provide adolescents with confidential counselling.
HIV/AIDS had not yet come into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the delegation was proud to report that not a single case had been reported. However, given that the rate of HIV/AIDS was rising in neighbouring countries, the Government was working to ensure stringent checks on those entering and leaving the country. Foreigners were given systematic checkups. An AIDS prevention strategy was developed, and on the basis of that strategy a number of activities were being undertaken, such as sensitising the general public on the dangers of HIV/AIDS, including through 150,000 publications on the subject.
About three years ago, in cooperation with UNICEF, the Government conducted surveys to discover what problems adolescents were facing.
As for concerns about malnutrition, the delegation wished to point out that previous generations had never known malnutrition. This issue had emerged in the early 1990s. The Government had decided to strengthen efforts and tackle that problem very seriously, with priority given to solving the food problem; encouraging breastfeeding; ensuring a sufficient supply of nutritious food; and conducting of surveys to identify problems and institute remedial measures. The breakthrough in diminishing the malnutrition rate would be found in increasing food production, and every effort was being made to do that, for example through double cropping, increasing soy bean production and other strategies.
Concerning adoption, the Family Code set out the relevant rules and regulations. If a child was over six years of age, his or her consent should also be sought in any adoption proceeding. There was no prohibition against inter-country adoption in the law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, but in actuality there had been no applications for such adoption with the Department for Public Administration.
For children separated from their parents for various reasons – death or because their parents were serving a jail sentence – the Family Code provided that, if possible, such children would be entrusted to members of their close family, such as a sibling or grandparent. Where such family members were absent, they were taken into State care. The State took care of those children in institutions, where they were educated and cared for at State expense. They could also be adopted or be provided for in a foster home. It was very rare for children to be placed in institutions by their family.
As to concerns that children in institutions were not getting enough food owing to the food crisis, the delegation underscored that, on the contrary, food was provided preferentially to children in those institutions, who had no one else to care for them. Therefore milk and soybean products were provided regularly. Those institutions also had in-house doctors and nurses, with a ratio of 1 medical staff to 30 children.
Foster homes were not considered an ideal solution, as those families had their own children to support and often the addition of another child strained their already meagre resources, the delegation said.
As working mothers needed social services to take care of their children, daycare centres were accessible at the community level. Working women were also granted time to breastfeed their children during working time. The Government made a lot of investment in nursery schools and kindergartens and in ensuring that the care provided was of the highest standard, the delegation added.
Turning to education, the delegation said the enrolment rate was 100 per cent, although it was recognized that the attendance rate was not satisfactory, owing to natural disasters and economic problems. Regarding the mobilization of children to agricultural work, it should be stressed that the food problem was one of the most serious ones in attaining human rights. Therefore, 10 years ago the whole country turned out to support their country. Children had volunteered to join in agricultural work and to contribute to solving the problems of the country. That was in the past. Today, children participated in work as a measure of combining theory with practice. It was part of their practical education and it was felt that changing up the pattern of education in this way from time to time might even be beneficial to them. It was also not true that children were forced to stay in classes all day long. They only participated in class work in the mornings and had the afternoons free to choose among a number of occupations, including cultural activities or reading in the school library.
There were about 1,000 Chinese miners in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. There were six primary schools and four secondary schools for those Chinese people. They could, according to their preference, attend one of those Chinese schools or attend Korean schools. The Constitution provided that those foreign children should receive equal treatment with citizens, and they therefore received free education and healthcare.
Addressing the complicated performances of children during the national festivities in the fall, and whether that interfered with their education, the delegation noted that to allow for the many hours of training necessary, classes were held in the morning and training them in the afternoon. Right before the festival there were even days when the children had to be mobilized all day long. However, the goals of education had to be remembered. Such intensive training might have some negative sides, but it also had positive sides for education. It fostered the values of collectivism and developed them physically and emotionally. So that performance had contributed to children's development.
As to the military aspect of children's education, the Government had said that the country should be like a fortress. Children had to be aware of the country's security situation and of the importance of defending national security, so that they could be prepared for the future. However, there was no separate course teaching military education.
Children had access to all the information they needed, but were not permitted direct access to the Internet, as it was deemed that they would be exposed to many bad things. For example, the practice of child prostitution and child pornography was unknown in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Preliminary Concluding Observations
LOTHAR KRAPPMANN, Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in preliminary concluding observations, said that much information had been provided in today's dialogue. However, often they had not been given enough information to determine whether the implementation of the Convention's provisions or the answers were unsatisfactory.
Today, the Permanent Representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had said that there was a lot of misinformation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the world. Mr. Krappmann agreed. But he also had doubts that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea always understood the gist of the Committee's questions. The question of misunderstanding could only be resolved through more and more intense communication. If they could open their country just a little bit more, it would be an advantage to all.
There was a long list of laws and measures that were relevant to improving children's lives, which were evidence of the Government's commitment to children, Mr. Krappmann said. What he wanted to know was to what extent the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea took account of the best interests of the child and groups of children; to what extent were the views of children given due weight; and to what extent was the development of children given priority status? Those issues would be included in the recommendations.
Some positive developments had been elucidated today: there was no death penalty for children; no pregnant women in prison; and no reformatory centres for children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
They had also heard about positive plans with regard to the areas of data collection, drafting of a Children's Code, clean water supply, and corporal punishment.
Healthcare and education systems were comprehensive and well staffed, Mr. Krappmann noted. However, the quality within those systems often seemed to be a problem.
Other things seemed to need more thorough consideration and which would figure in the Committee's recommendations were that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea introduce independent monitoring institutions, child protection services, and a juvenile justice system.
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