Delegation: Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Committee: Human Rights Council Delegate: Dafin Iarina

I. The Death Penalty The death penalty has always been a very controversial topic that, in modern days, got either in accordance with one nations principles or in contradiction with anothers. The capital punishment - as it is also commonly called - according to the UNs ethics, is a permanent act of violence and it undoubtedly violates the universal laws of human rights. Also, it cannot be identified with any kind of respect towards them, as it is suggested in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There have been several treaties regarding the rights of people around the globe and the capital punishment, the four most important being adopted regionally (Protocols no. 6 and 13 to the ECHR and the Protocol to the ACHR) and internationally (The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty). All these settlements have been already accepted by a big number of countries and many more are still trying to reach the complete or partial abolition of the death penalty. The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea recognized none of these treaties, the only settlement that the country signed and ratified being the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), in 1966. On 23rd of August 1997, DPRK attempted to withdraw from its position in the Covenant through a notification. Given that the agreement didnt include a method of abandonment, the situation required the agreement of all the other states, thus making the departure impossible. For the future plan, large and significant organizations that are active in the field of Human Rights, such as the United Nations, are constantly trying to aim at the eradication of all the malfunctioning penalty systems that include death sentences. II. The Position of DPRK towards the UN and the Suggestions of the Representative Committee In the case of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations arrangement places itself in opposition with the philosophy of the supreme leader and his party. Generally speaking, in Asia, death penalty enjoys strong public support and little to no attention from the media, but its also used as a tool of political oppression and a way of refining the population through fright. The Associated Press has reported that executions and torture in North Korea ar e worse than animal slaughter. In 2001, the government passed the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) a report that claimed the decrease of criminal penalties carrying executions from 33 to 5. On the other hand, the HRC noticed that 4 of 5 were caused by essentially political problems. The international public view is, once again, influenced by the latest executions of a North Korean man (Jan 2013) and a North Korean official (Jan 2012). Several notices were brought up to solve the case of DPRKs cruel routine, most of them by Special Rapporteur Marzuki Darusman, that considers them crimes against humanity and violations to the right of life. Most recently, Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has welcomed the establishment by the Human Rights council of a commission on inquiry into alleged abuses, a decision

made by the 47-member body in their latest session (22 March). Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the High Commissioner of Human Rights, said that the deplorable situation in DPRK [] affects almost the entire population and has no parallel anywhere else in the world. On the same day, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, more precisely the foreign ministry in Pyongyang, in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency, said it completely rejects the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council and will ignore it, declaring the countrys determination for maintaining its autonomous position. DPRK includes human rights in its Constitution, but it permits no free media, political, civilian or religious freedom. Death penalties include crimes against the state or crimes against the people, often condemned by the UN and the general public because of the uncertain trials and conditions. According to the will of the state, the supreme leader and the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the representative team has reached a solution that will benefit the morals of both sides, to be able to reach an agreement. The representative team suggests the alteration of the present law, as it should revise the death penalties that are usually applied to insignificant crimes that cant be measured with ones life and suggest other punishments, grading the difficulty by the gravity of the offences. The mentioned solution could provide both well-chosen results (such as more working individuals) on the side of DPRK and the decrease of deaths caused by either public or private executions. Do not divide the topic into two parts, the aim of the position paper is to briefly and concise state your country position on the debated topic Congratulations for your research, you have wrote almost twice as much it was requested. For the future try to keep it shorter and focus only briefly on what has been done so far. The most important part of the position paper is the political declaration you make on behalf of your government in what concerns what it should be done and what your country wishes to promote A position paper should look more like a political declaration rather than an explanatory document