On July 4, 2025, NKDB and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) submitted a joint shadow report to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ahead of the DPRK’s initial state review scheduled for August 12, 2025 in Geneva.
The submission draws from the testimonies of 70 North Korean escapees and over 20 years of documentation and shed light on the daily realities of persons with disabilities in the DPRK.
While the DPRK ratified the CRPD in 2016 and has adopted several disability-related policies, the report reveals a significant gap between official commitments and lived reality. Rights remain conditional on political loyalty, and persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities face systemic exclusion, stigma, and lack of access to education, healthcare, and justice.
NKDB and FIDH urge the CRPD Committee to hold the DPRK accountable for its obligations, and to press for meaningful inclusion, legal reforms, and independent monitoring mechanisms.
Download our report below
On July 4, 2025, NKDB and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) submitted a joint shadow report to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ahead of the DPRK’s initial state review scheduled for August 12, 2025 in Geneva.
The submission draws from the testimonies of 70 North Korean escapees and over 20 years of documentation and shed light on the daily realities of persons with disabilities in the DPRK.
While the DPRK ratified the CRPD in 2016 and has adopted several disability-related policies, the report reveals a significant gap between official commitments and lived reality. Rights remain conditional on political loyalty, and persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities face systemic exclusion, stigma, and lack of access to education, healthcare, and justice.
NKDB and FIDH urge the CRPD Committee to hold the DPRK accountable for its obligations, and to press for meaningful inclusion, legal reforms, and independent monitoring mechanisms.
Download our report below