UN expert calls for N.Korea sanctions to be eased as starvation risk looms | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
June 20, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Epaper
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2025
UN expert calls for N.Korea sanctions to be eased as starvation risk looms

World+Biz

Reuters
07 October, 2021, 04:20 pm
Last modified: 07 October, 2021, 04:38 pm

Related News

  • North Korea slams Israeli attacks on Iran as 'crime against humanity'
  • US will strike North Korea if South attacked with nukes: South's spy chief nominee
  • South Korean military suspends loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea
  • Britain, allies impose sanctions on Israeli far-right ministers for 'inciting violence'
  • Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move

UN expert calls for N.Korea sanctions to be eased as starvation risk looms

North Korea does not recognise Ojea Quintana's mandate or cooperate with him and its mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Reuters
07 October, 2021, 04:20 pm
Last modified: 07 October, 2021, 04:38 pm
A general view of a rice field in North Korea's propaganda village Kaepoong in this picture taken from the top of the Aegibong Peak Observatory, south of the demilitarised zone (DMZ), separating the two Koreas in Gimpo, South Korea, October 5, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
A general view of a rice field in North Korea's propaganda village Kaepoong in this picture taken from the top of the Aegibong Peak Observatory, south of the demilitarised zone (DMZ), separating the two Koreas in Gimpo, South Korea, October 5, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

Highlights:

  • Report to UN General Assembly seen by Reuters
  • UN rights expert says North Koreans risk starvation
  • Says sanctions exacerbating shortages during pandemic
  • Deplores "creeping apathy" as situation worsens

North Korea's most vulnerable risk starvation after it slipped deeper into isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic and UN sanctions imposed for its nuclear and missile programmes should be eased, a UN rights investigator said in report seen by Reuters.

The worsening humanitarian situation could turn into a crisis and it is coinciding with a global "creeping apathy" about the plight of North Korea's people, said Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"Sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council should be reviewed and eased when necessary to both facilitate humanitarian and life-saving assistance and to enable the promotion of the right to an adequate standard of living of ordinary citizens," he said in a final report to the UN General Assembly, to be presented on Oct. 22.

North Korea does not recognise Ojea Quintana's mandate or cooperate with him and its mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government in Pyongyang does not take questions from foreign media.

Leader Kim Jong Un in June said the food situation was "tense" because of natural disasters last year and acknowledged that citizens had faced sacrifices during the pandemic. In April, North Korean officials called a UN report on child malnutrition a "sheer lie".

North Korea has not reported any Covid-19 cases and has imposed strict anti-virus measures, including border closures and domestic travel curbs.

But many North Koreans relying on commercial activities along the border with China have lost their incomes, and that has been compounded by the impact of sanctions, Ojea Quintana said.

"People's access to food is a serious concern and the most vulnerable children and elderly are at risk of starvation," he said, adding that North Koreans "should not have to choose between the fear of hunger and the fear of Covid-19 ".

"Essential medicines and medical supplies are in short supply and prices have increased severalfold as they stopped coming in from China, and humanitarian organisations have been unable to bring in medicines and other supplies."

Most diplomats and aid workers have left North Korea amid strict travel restrictions and a shortage of essential goods and health facilities, Ojea Quintana said.

Progress in vaccination, women and children's health and water and sanitation was eroding, he said.

"The current worsening humanitarian situation could turn into a crisis and must be averted," he said.

'Creeping apathy' 

He also voiced concern that growing challenges to obtaining information were "leading to a creeping apathy in global attention to the worsening human rights situation there".

Ojea Quintana called for easing military tension on the divided peninsula and urged the United States and South Korea to "send clear signals" to revive diplomacy aimed at securing the North's denuclearisation.

In recent weeks, North Korea carried out a series of weapons tests including ballistic missiles and a cruise missile with potential nuclear capabilities.

Ojea Quintana welcomed a pledge by US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in last May to work to improve North Korea's rights situation.

"In any possible upcoming peace negotiations, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America should secure commitments with measurable benchmarks ... to a meaningful process of engagement on human rights," he said.

North Koreans are still detained in political prison camps, along with their families, while some have been released from labour training centres due to the unavailability of food and work, he said. The camps, known as kwanliso, the existence of which is denied by the state, can be qualified as constituting crimes against humanity, he said.

Top News

UN / north korea / sanction / starvation

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Infographic: TBS
    $3.6b budget support expected by month-end
  • A building at the campus of the Weizmann Institute of Science remains damaged following an Iranian missile strike on Sunday, in Rehovot, Israel June 19, 2025. REUTERS
    Israel-Iran air war enters second week as Europe pushes diplomacy
  • Vice-Chair of the National Consensus Commission Ali Riaz briefing reporters on 19 June. Photo: Screengrab
    Most parties agree upon amending presidential election process, BNP for existing method

MOST VIEWED

  • BAT Bangladesh to shut Mohakhali factory, relocate HQ after lease rejection
    BAT Bangladesh to shut Mohakhali factory, relocate HQ after lease rejection
  • Mashrur Arefin appointed Chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh
    Mashrur Arefin appointed Chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh
  • Illustration: Ashrafun Naher Ananna/TBS Creative
    From 18m to 590m francs: Deposits from Bangladeshis fly high in Swiss banks in 2024
  • Students attend their graduation ceremony. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
    US resumes student visas but orders enhanced social media vetting
  • Emergency workers at Soroka Medical Center after an Iranian missile strike, Israel June 19, 2025. Photo: Reuters
    Khamenei 'cannot continue to exist', Israeli defence minister says after hospital strike
  • Representational image. Photo: Bloomberg
    NBR’s policy reversal jolts oceangoing shipping, $3.5b investment, $1b yearly freight at risk

Related News

  • North Korea slams Israeli attacks on Iran as 'crime against humanity'
  • US will strike North Korea if South attacked with nukes: South's spy chief nominee
  • South Korean military suspends loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea
  • Britain, allies impose sanctions on Israeli far-right ministers for 'inciting violence'
  • Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move

Features

Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?

Evacuation of Bangladeshis: Where do they go next from conflict-ridden Iran?

1d | Panorama
The Kallyanpur Canal is burdened with more than 600,000 kilograms of waste every month. Photo: Courtesy

Kallyanpur canal project shows how to combat plastic pollution in Dhaka

2d | Panorama
The GLS600 overall has a curvaceous nature, with seamless blends across every panel. PHOTO: Arfin Kazi

Mercedes Maybach GLS600: Definitive Luxury

3d | Wheels
Renowned authors Imdadul Haque Milon, Mohit Kamal, and poet–children’s writer Rashed Rouf seen at Current Book Centre, alongside the store's proprietor, Shahin. Photo: Collected

From ‘Screen and Culture’ to ‘Current Book House’: Chattogram’s oldest surviving bookstore

4d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Bribery exposed: BBS report reveals year’s dark data

Bribery exposed: BBS report reveals year’s dark data

11h | TBS Today
Is the story of nuclear weapons just to justify military operations?

Is the story of nuclear weapons just to justify military operations?

12h | TBS World
What are the political parties saying about the presidential election and power?

What are the political parties saying about the presidential election and power?

12h | TBS Today
Pakistan Army Chief urges US not to get involved in Iran-Israel war

Pakistan Army Chief urges US not to get involved in Iran-Israel war

13h | Others
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net