Institutionalised forced labour in North Korea by United Nations News, agencies Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)   July 2024   The use of forced labour by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) against its citizens has become deeply institutionalised and raises a broad range of serious human rights concerns, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office released today.   The report is based on various sources, including 183 interviews conducted between 2015 and 2023 with victims and witnesses of forced labour who managed to escape and now live abroad.   “The testimonies in this report give a shocking and distressing insight into the suffering inflicted through forced labour upon people, both in its scale, and in the levels of violence and inhuman treatment,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk.   “These people are forced to work in intolerable conditions – often in dangerous sectors with the absence of pay, free choice, ability to leave, protection, medical care, time off, food and shelter. They are placed under constant surveillance, regularly beaten, while women are exposed to continuing risks of sexual violence,” he said.   “If we didn’t meet the daily quota, we were beaten and our food was cut,” said one victim. Another recalled: “One of my acquaintances, who was a woman and older than me, was sexually abused by one of the heads. She suffered.”   The report looks at six distinct types of forced labour: labour in detention, compulsory State-assigned jobs, military conscription, the use of revolutionary “Shock Brigades”, work mobilisations and work performed by people sent abroad by the DPRK to earn currency for the State.   The report concludes that people in North Korea are “controlled and exploited through an extensive and multi-layered system of forced labour” that is “directed towards the interests of the State rather than the people.” The system “acts as a means for the State to control, monitor and indoctrinate the population,” the report says.   Most serious concerns arise particularly in places of detention, where forced labour victims are systematically compelled to work under the threat of physical violence and in inhumane conditions. Within this context, given the almost total control by the State over the civilian population of detainees, the widespread extraction of forced labour in DPRK prisons may in some instances reach degrees of effective “ownership” over individuals which are characteristic of enslavement, a crime against humanity, the report says.   After completing school or military service, every North Korean is assigned to a workplace by the State. This also dictates where people must live. The absence of free choice of work, the lack of ability to form trade unions, the threat of imprisonment for failure to attend work and the continuous non-payment of wages paint a picture of institutionalised forced labour in the country, according to the report.   Military conscripts, required to serve 10 years or more, are routinely forced to work in agriculture or construction. The report describes their work as “hard and dangerous, without adequate health and safety measures”.   “Most soldiers with malnourishment also came down with tuberculosis, since they were physically weak and tired,” said a former nurse, who treated soldiers during her compulsory service time.   Other forms of mobilisation include “Shock Brigades”, which are State-organised groups of citizens forced to carry out “arduous manual labour”, often in construction and agriculture, says the report. A project could last for months or even years, during which workers are required to live on site, with little or no remuneration. Being drafted into work mobilisations has a greater impact on women who are often the main income earners for families, the report says.   The Government of the DPRK also sends selected citizens overseas to work and earn foreign currency for it. Workers reported losing up to 90 per cent of their wages to the State, being under constant surveillance, with no freedom of movement, their passports confiscated, cramped living quarters, almost no time off, and extremely limited possibilities to contact their families.   This institutionalised labour system starts at school, the report finds. Schoolchildren are often forced to do work like clearing riversides or planting trees. “From an early age, you have to make yourself available to serve,” a witness said.   The report calls on the North Korean Government to “abolish the use of forced labour and end any forms of slavery”.   To ensure accountability, the report urges the international community to investigate and prosecute those suspected of committing international crimes. It also calls on the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.   “Economic prosperity should serve people, not be the reason for their enslavement,” the High Commissioner said. “Decent work, free choice, freedom from violence, and just and favourable conditions of work are all crucial components of the right to work. They must be respected and fulfilled, in all parts of society,” he added.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1152146 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/institutionalised-forced-labour-north-korea-constitutes-grave-violations Visit the related web page
	Democratic workers’ rights under attack by International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)   June 2024   The 2024 ITUC Global Rights Index makes for difficult reading – a clear and urgent wake-up call that the democratic values and fundamental rights agreed upon by most countries at an international level are crumbling.   ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said: “For 11 years now the Index has tracked a rapid decline in workers’ rights in every region of the world. Workers are the beating heart of democracy, and their right to be heard is crucial to the health and sustainability of democratic systems. When their rights are violated, democracy itself is attacked. Democracy, trade unions and workers’ rights go together; you simply cannot have one without the other.”   The ITUC Global Rights Index is a comprehensive review of workers’ rights in law ranking 151 countries against a list of 97 indicators derived from ILO Conventions and jurisprudence, and as such is the only database of its kind. It rates countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ based on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March.   The 10 worst countries for working people are: Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, the Philippines, Tunisia and Turkiye.   Twenty-two trade unionists were killed in six countries: Bangladesh, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea. Conditions are so bad in 12 countries due to the breakdown of the rule of law that they are rated 5+.   Only two countries have seen their rating improve in 2024: Romania has moved from 4 to 3 and Brazil is now rated 4, an improvement on 5 last year. Thirteen countries have worse ratings: Costa Rica, Finland, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Mexico, Nigeria, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Switzerland and Venezuela.   87% of countries violated the right to strike. 79% of countries violated the right to collective bargaining. 75% of countries excluded workers from the right to establish or join a trade union. 74% of countries impeded the registration of unions. In 65% of countries, workers had no or restricted access to justice. 43% of countries restricted free speech and assembly. Workers were arrested and detained in 74 countries. Workers experienced violence in 44 countries.   Europe has an average rating of 2.73, down from 2.56 in 2023, continuing a rapid deterioration from 1.84 in 2014 – the biggest decline seen in any region in the world over the past 10 years.   The worst region in the world for working people is the Middle East and North Africa, with an average rating of 4.74, worse than the 4.53 it received in 2023, and the 4.25 rating it had in 2014. The rights to collective bargaining, to join a trade union and to register a trade union were violated by all countries in the region.   Luc Triangle concluded: “Despite a few modest improvements, the general picture shows a relentless attack on civil liberties, workers’ rights and the interests of working people. The Index tells the story of courageous workers and trade unionists who face grave dangers to improve the lives of their colleagues and defend democratic rights.   “This comes against the backdrop of a continuing, devastating cost-of-living crisis, technological disruption rapidly changing the world of work, and worsening global levels of violent conflict where working people face the catastrophic consequences of war.   “A truly democratic movement is the only way that these trends can be addressed, sustainably. A movement that crosses borders and sectors, ages and genders, races and religions and has the power, presence and accountability to change the balance of power in every workplace, country and global institution. Trade unions are that movement.   “That is why, with the release of the 2024 Index, in a year when four billion people are due to vote, the ITUC’s For Democracy campaign aims to defend and strengthen democracy in the workplace, in society and at the global level against right-wing, vested interests focused on eroding workers’ rights. This is our shared struggle.   “We are the foremost practitioners and defenders of, and fighters for the democratic values we exercise every day to create a fairer and safer world for all. Our work is crucial now more than ever.”   http://www.ituc-csi.org/global-rights-index   June 2024   Towards a renewed social contract. Report of the ILO Director-General   Social justice remains an imperative and an essential condition for universal and lasting peace. Yet we know that trust in national and international governance is waning. We live in times of significant geopolitical instability, with wars continuing to rage in some parts of the world. Social cohesion is under pressure and political polarization is rampant and deepening.   Rather than having a sense of not being left behind, many feel that the system is rigged against them. The fine balance that many societies once maintained – in the sharing of collective responsibilities and benefits and the provision of solidarity in times of need-appears to have tipped in favour of a privileged few. When an economic crisis or extreme environmental event occurs, it is almost always the most vulnerable in our societies – most often women – who bear the brunt of the shock and carry the greatest burden.   How do we tackle the injustices, inequalities and insecurities facing us today? This report, my second to the International Labour Conference, carries forward the theme of social justice by focusing on the very foundation of just societies, upon which we build the opportunities and institutions for decent work: the social contract.   What do I mean by a social contract? Put simply, I mean the implicit, or at times explicit, understanding of our collective responsibilities towards each other that finds its expression in the norms, collective institutions and policies that fulfil the promise of the Declaration of Philadelphia that “all human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity”.   http://www.ilo.org/resource/conference-paper/towards-renewed-social-contract-report-director-general Visit the related web page
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