Introduction

The most critical actors for improving North Korean human rights are the North Korean people themselves as the primary drivers of change. NKDB conducts full investigations with North Korean escapees due to the reality that it is impossible to directly contact victims in North Korea due to the current state of division on the Korean Peninsula. Those who participate in investigations not only assist in investigating the human rights violations that they themselves have experienced, but also on the human rights violations they have witnessed and heard about, assisting with investigations as direct agents for improving North Korean human rights both now and in the future. NKDB analyzes collected testimonies by applying an international human rights analytical framework and as a result established the NKDB Unified Human Rights Database in 2006 with this analyzed data, now the largest collection of data on North Korean human rights violations in the world, prioritizing the objectivity of data regarding the state of North Korean human rights.

Investigation
ㆍ	To date, NKDB has conducted surveys and interviewed over 20,000 North Korean escapees in South Korea
ㆍ	Investigate cases of violations that North Korean escapees have experienced, witnessed, or heard about
ㆍ	Conduct full investigations with North Korean escapees at Hanawon (late 1990s to 2019)
ㆍ	Conduct investigations with resettled North Korean escapees in South Korean society after the Ministry of Unification revoked access for full investigations at Hanawon in 2020

NKDB provides individually-tailored psychological counseling services to victims of North Korean human rights violations that have been tortured, assaulted, trafficked, or have undergone and witnessed other serious human rights abuses inside and outside North Korea simply for being North Korean. NKDB provides assistance for those with psychological aftereffects through our professional psychological counselors and social workers who are familiar with North Korean human rights violations and have obtained a master's degree level of education or higher. Protecting and supporting those who have experienced human rights violations is a role that NKDB and civil society can immediately implement for the sake of resettlement and social integration in South Korea.

*Support across South Korea is provided free of charge

NKDB conducts research and publishes reports to fulfill the role of civil society for improving the ongoing issue of North Korean human rights violations. Based on the NKDB Unified Human Rights Database, established through scientific analysis of testimony provided by over 20,000 North Korean escapees, NKDB maintains objectivity and forms the foundation of the North Korean human rights movement. In addition, NKDB provides a place for mutual communication between North and South Koreans, as well as cooperation between civil society and academic institutions to strengthen participation in the North Korean human rights movement, a core element of NKDB activities. Moreover, NKDB provides psychological counseling support and social resettlement assistance to those who have experienced human rights violations in North Korea, including prisoners of war, abductees, and unprotected North Korean escapees.

Research
ㆍ	Publish 4 annual reports White Paper on North Korean Human Rights White Paper on Religious Freedom in North Korea Survey on South Koreans’ Perception of Human Rights in North Korea Social and Economic Integration of North Korean Defectors in South Korea
ㆍ	Conduct special investigative research into areas such as UPR Monitoring, the SDGs and North Korean Human Rights, Overseas Labor, North Korean Women, Human Rights in the North Korean Military, and POWs in North Korean Detention Facilities

Educate
ㆍ	Hold monthly briefings in English on North Korean human rights for diplomatic officials and foreign news correspondents
ㆍ	Operate the NKDB Education Center for Korean Integration (Conducting semi-annual Academies, such as the North Korean Human Rights Academy, The Unification Diplomacy Academy, Unification Law Academy, Unification Social Welfare Academy, The Together for Unification Academy, and the Dream Plus Forum)
ㆍ	Establish a committee for constructing and opening a North Korean Human Rights Museum and Memorial
ㆍ	Maintaining and growing the North Korean Human Rights Larchiveum (Library, Archive, and Museum)

Support
ㆍ	Operation of the Resettlement Assistance Headquarters
ㆍ	Support the psychological well-being and social resettlement of those who have been victims of torture and human trafficking
ㆍ	Publish storybooks written by victims of human rights violations
ㆍ	Conduct educational programs on social adjustment for returned POWs and abductees
ㆍ	Provide follow-up services for returned POWs and abductees and carry out research through oral histories
ㆍ	Carry out projects that support the initial resettlement of unprotected North Korean escapees
ㆍ	Operation of the West Gyeonggi Hana Center

NKDB focuses on monitoring the current state of human rights in North Korea, engaging in activities that support international and domestic civil society, and cooperating with the international community and state governments to protect the rights of victims. NKDB collaborates closely with the international community by utilizing the results and testimonies that have been collected and analyzed to identify and validate North Korean human rights violations as criminal acts. In order to implement the social obligations for universal, indivisible, and interdependent human rights through legal avenues, NKDB currently conducts North Korean human rights research that utilizes international human rights mechanisms, such as the Universal Periodic Review and the Sustainable Development Goals, and shares the results with relevant stakeholders and others in the civil society sphere.

NKDB strives to place the human rights and freedom of the North Korean people are at the core of every project. For NKDB to continue our work, we need the support of people who care about the human rights, freedom, and livelihood of the North Korean people to join us in our pursuit of the improvement of human rights in North Korea. Human rights should never be used as part of a political agenda, and North Korean human rights are no exception. In order to make this a reality, NKDB works with a variety of different civil society organizations, coalitions, UN agencies, and governmental organizations so that the universal value of human rights remains at the core of all North Korea-related activities.

Pursue a Human Rights-based Approach
ㆍ	Promote the role of civil society in carrying out the principals of PANEL (Participant, Accountability, Nondiscrimination, Empowerment, Link to human rights standards)
ㆍ	Indivisibility and interdependence

The Structural Roots of the North Korean Human Rights Issue (Human Rights Violations through the Political System)
ㆍ	Identification of the North Korean state, the main agent of human rights obligations (respecting, protecting, and guaranteeing human rights), as a perpetrator
ㆍ	Based on the NKDB Unified Human Rights Database, over 80% of perpetrators of North Korea human rights violations are governmental organizations (MSS, MPS, etc.)

Document Human Rights Violations First Established North Korea Human Rights Archives
ㆍ	Provide advice regarding human rights abuses, prepare evidence to ensure that perpetrators are punished according to domestic and international law
ㆍ	Victim-centered records
ㆍ	Research in pursuit of future accountability efforts

Analysis
ㆍ	Categorize information on North Korean human rights violation cases and individuals through specific standards based on international human rights regulations
ㆍ	Secure multiple testimonies regarding the same cases and individuals to cross-verify data
ㆍ	Analyze public resources, such as literature and press releases related to North Korean human rights, in addition to direct investigations

Data
ㆍ	Over 84,000 accumulated cases of North Korean human rights violations
ㆍ	Over 54,000 accumulated cases of individuals associated with North Korean human rights violations
ㆍ	Principal of non-political, non-religious, non-profit in order to maintain the objectivity of the database
ㆍ	Strengthen the accessibility of North Korean human rights data for relevant researchers and civil society organizations (seeking visualization, digitalization)

About The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB)

Our Mission

Provide society with data and solutions to the structural issues at the core of the North Korean human rights situation through a human rights-based approach

Including and encouraging the North Korean people to exercise their rights

NKDB provides assistance for those who have experienced human rights violations in

North Korea in order to heal and support their new start

Fulfilling the role of civil society for achieving improved human rights in North Korea

Urging South Korea and the international community to fulfill their obligations
for the realization of human rights for the North Korean people

NKDB is a nonpolitical non-profit organization that cooperates with organizations both in South Korea and internationally for the improvement of human rights for the North Korean people. We ask you to join us on this journey.