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UN Investigator Warns Against Isolating North Korea as Threat of COVID-19
Looms

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - A U.N. investigator Monday warned of serious
   consequences if COVID-19 gains a foothold in North Korea, and urged the
   government to accept international offers of help to contain the spread
   of the deadly virus. The investigator submitted a report on the North's
   human rights situation to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

   The U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North
   Korea, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said the lack of freedoms and wide-range
   abuses in the tightly controlled, highly secretive society run counter
   to the transparency needed to combat the coronavirus epidemic.

   Ojea Quintana acknowledges the government's extensive efforts in
   preventing an outbreak of this virus inside the North. He warns a
   widespread infection in North Korea would be devastating for the people
   as many are malnourished, suffering from stunted growth and are
   vulnerable to getting sick.

   The U.N. official is calling on North Korea to allow full and unimpeded
   access to medical experts and aid workers and urges the government not
   to restrict access to vital information. The government in Pyongyang
   has not publicly disclosed any cases of COVID-19.

   "Measures to contain and combat the spread of COVID-19, such as
   lockdowns and quarantines, as well as treatment of patients, should be
   carried out in strict accordance with human rights standards. Further
   isolation of the country is not the answer. The international community
   must respond accordingly and offer medical and scientific assistance,"
   he said.

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