On April 26, 2024, Stars and Stripes covered a panel discussion hosted by the South Korea Ministry of Unification, which focused on the upcoming renewal of the UN Human Rights Council's report on North Korean human rights, slated for publication in 2025. Notably, the report is set to address the inhumane detention of over 2,000 North Korean escapees in China, with approximately 70% of them being women, as well as the forced repatriation of numerous escapees back to the DPRK. Moreover, there's a plan to examine societal shifts under North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's reign, who engaged in fewer efforts to prosecute human rights violations by officials, compared to his father's era over the past decade. NKDB advocates for a victim-centered approach, emphasizing the importance of reflecting the voices of those who have experienced human rights abuses in the report.

The updated report is “urgently needed now, more than ever” and should include the voices of “those who are most affected,” said Hanna Song, executive director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights.

The [report] would not have been possible if the victims, family members and the North Korean people themselves had not spoken out,” she said. “The report is for them. The report is to show that the international community is listening.

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