RC remarks at the information session on the UN human rights system and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for the DPRK delegation

REMARKS BY THE UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN THE DPRK

Mr. JON Chol Hi, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Korea Federation for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities,

Distinguished members of the DPRK delegation, 

UN colleagues, 

I am pleased to join this information session, along with my colleagues from the UN Country Team DPRK. We bring you warm greetings from Bangkok, where we are temporarily based, while we wait to be invited back to Pyongyang. 

Allow me to start by thanking the hosts, our colleagues from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, for bringing us together.

But most importantly, I wish to convey my deep gratitude to you, Mr. JON, and to each member of your delegation, for traveling from Pyongyang to meet with us. 

I feel especially privileged to be with you today.

You see, my title reads Resident Coordinator in the DPRK. But, at the moment, I am a resident of Bangkok, Thailand, and I have never been to the DPRK. The same is true for all my colleagues in the UN Country Team. It’s been five years since we were last in Pyongyang.

So having you with us, in our UN home in Geneva, is a rare opportunity for which I am grateful.

Especially at this juncture of the geopolitical landscape, this kind of exchanges is precisely what multilateralism needs. Multilateralism needs direct dialogue. Multilateralism dies in isolation. 

Your presence today strengthens the United Nations and supports multilateralism. Thank you.

Now, allow me to introduce the Country Team DPRK here with me today, your team, to whom I am also grateful for joining. 

With me are: Roland Kupka, the representative of UNICEF; Dr. Anupurba Roy Chowdury of the WHO; Salma El Hag Yousif from UNDP; Sheikh Ahaduzzaman of the FAO; and Kamol Inomkhodjayev of UNFPA. 

All of them from the agencies that are meant to be resident in the DPRK, and all of them, like me, eager to be allowed back. You will hear from some of them shortly.

Just like you, we are here because we all share a profound commitment to ensure that no one is left behind in the DPRK. Including People Living with Disabilities.

The United Nations wants to lead by example. From the global level to country operations. 

In 2019, the UN launched the first-ever UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, which marked a pivotal shift in how the UN system operates.

The Strategy calls for a transformative change across all UN programs, from headquarters to the field, ensuring that we are fully equipped to support member states in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for all, including for People Living with Disabilities.

We know that these aspirations resonate strongly with you. Your actions show it:

In 2016, your government ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In 2017, the DPRK hosted the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

In 2023, you updated your national legislation to reflect more recent realities for the People Living with Disabilities.

Together, the DPRK and the UN have a record of working together on this issue. 

In 2014 and 2016, for example, the UN worked closely with your Central Bureau of Statistics to conduct two national disability sample surveys. These surveys provided foundational data on disability prevalence, employment, and demographic distribution. 

And more was done in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

We even swap members of our teams: a member of your delegation today, Ms. KIM So Hye, worked for the UN in the past, including at UNICEF and WFP. 

And I have just recently hired in my office one of your colleagues from the International Organization Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. CHOE Sung Chol is now our Partnership Officer in Pyongyang. 

As we look ahead, indeed we can rely on these solid foundations. 

The UN Country Team is keen to return to Pyongyang to support the development priorities of the DPRK, in line with international norms and standards. 

We want to return to the DPRK to i) resume the implementation of the current Strategic Framework, and ii) start the discussions on the preparation of the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2027-2031). 

Our Country Team is prepared to “walk the talk” on disability and inclusion.

When we return, we want to support your efforts to ensure that disability inclusion is mainstreamed across sectors: from food security, education, and public health to child protection, disaster risk reduction, and water, sanitation and hygiene.

Crucial to this work is the realization that disability is not a stand-alone issue. It intersects with age, gender, geography, and socioeconomic status. Any strategy must be fully intersectional and centered on those furthest behind, including women and girls, and the elderly.

When we are back, we want to deepen our cooperation with your government on these issues. 

When we are back, we want to partner with the national entities mandated to work on the disability agenda, including the Korean Federation for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities, and the National Committee for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities. 

When we are back, we will put the disability agenda and inclusion at the core of our new Cooperation Framework. 

When we are back, we will mobilize the full range of UN mechanisms, expertise, and global partnerships to deliver results on the ground in the pursuit of disability inclusion.

When we are back, we are committed to the recruitment of People Living with Disabilities across our resident agencies.

When we are back, we will make the necessary investments to upgrade our premises to ensure they are fully accessible to everyone. 

Because disability inclusion is not charity. It is about recognizing the values, talents, and leadership that People Living with Disabilities bring to our societies. It is about creating systems that allow them to realize their full potential; to their benefit and that of the whole society. It is about realizing everyone’s rights.

Disability inclusion is an investment in a better and more prosperous future. For everyone.

Before my UNCT colleagues take the floor, allow me to close with a call, a key message to bring to your capital:

The UN Country Team is eager to return to Pyongyang to work in partnership with you. A partnership based on trust and mutual respect, in line with international norms and standards, and in pursuit of our shared objectives.

Thank you.

**END**