DPRK Delegation Head's Speech
at Int'l Meeting Concerning Rights of Disabled
Ambassador Ri Hung Sik of the DPRK Foreign Ministry who is heading the DPRK delegation on June 13 made a speech at the 10th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities now under way in New York.
Referring to the policy and efforts of the DPRK government for promoting human rights and protecting the rights of the disabled, the ambassador said:
The DPRK is a socialist state centred on the popular masses where human being is placed at the centre of everything and everything of society serves the people. It is the supreme principle of the state activities to give priority to the people's interests and convenience and the struggle to this end is mandatory by the constitution.
Today in the DPRK all members of society, including persons with disabilities, are truly enjoying genuine human rights thanks to Supreme Leader Comrade
Kim Jong Un
's policy of valuing people.
The DPRK attaches importance to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to the international cooperation in protecting and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities.
It was from this perspective that the DPRK signed the Convention in July 2013, made amendments to and supplemented its Law on Protection of Persons with Disabilities in line with the Convention and ratified the Convention last November.
Although it is exposed to constant political and military threats from outside, the DPRK is waging an all-people drive to implement 2016-2020 five-year strategy for national economic development.
In implementing the Convention, the DPRK attaches importance to international cooperation, including technical and humanitarian assistance by the UN agencies.
In this regard, I would like to make special reference to the successful visit of the Special Rapporteur of the UNHRC on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to the DPRK in early May this year, which was made as a part of the implementation of the Convention.
I am convinced that the visit by the Special Rapporteur served as a significant occasion in promoting mutual understanding and establishing and developing constructive relations of cooperation between the DPRK and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Clarifying once again the principled stand of the DPRK on the issue of human rights, the ambassador went on:
The DPRK totally rejects politicization, selectivity and double standard in the international human rights arena and resolutely opposes any attempts to use human rights for ill-intended political purposes. However, it remains consistent in its stand of attaching importance to dialogue and negotiation for protection and promotion of genuine human rights, including the rights of persons with disabilities, in the international human rights arena.
In other words, the DPRK is against all kinds of extremely politicized human rights debate, which has nothing to do with human rights, being pursued by the hostile forces with wicked intention of overthrowing the governments of sovereign states, based on lies and fabrications from fugitive criminals who fled their home country to desert the nation and even families, but actively supports dialogue and cooperation for protection and promotion of genuine human rights.
The DPRK, as a state party to the Convention, will honour its responsibility in accomplishing the 10-year goals for implementing the Convention set forth by this Conference and make substantial contributions to the international efforts to implement the Convention through increased exchange and cooperation with the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international organizations and countries.
KCNA