Measures taken by North Korea to fight the first outbreak of coronavirus in its territory are in danger of having “catastrophic” consequences for human rights in the country, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said today.
New restrictions are likely to have catastrophic consequences for people who will not be able to meet their basic needs, such as food supplies, Liz Throssell warned at a news conference, adding that any measures taken to stem the pandemic should be symmetrical. and necessarily.
The isolated country confirmed the first outbreak of the pandemic last week, raising concerns about a severe crisis in the country due to a lack of vaccines and health infrastructure.
New measures to control the pandemic in the country, which include quarantining citizens and further travel restrictions, risk opening the door to more repression, she said.
“Given the absence of a vaccination campaign, the reported spread of the pandemic is likely to have a devastating impact on the human rights situation in the country,” she said.
Children, nursing mothers, the elderly, the homeless and those living in isolated rural or border areas are particularly vulnerable, according to Throssel.
“Detainees are also particularly at risk of infection due to high concentrations in confined spaces and limited access to medical care and sanitation. Malnutrition was already prevalent in detention facilities before COVID-19 appeared,” Throssel said. .
North Korea’s state-run epidemic service says 269,510 people have died of fever, bringing the total to 1.48 million, with the death toll rising from 6 to 56 yesterday afternoon, the KNA news agency reported. without mentioning how many have tested positive for coronavirus.
The country has not started mass vaccinations and has limited capacity to perform diagnostic tests, which raises concerns that it may be difficult to assess how widespread and how rapidly the disease is spreading in the country and to determine the number of confirmed cases and deaths.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on North Korea to discuss with the United Nations the opening of humanitarian aid channels, including medicines and vaccines, the spokeswoman said, adding that the United Nations enter the country to support the fight against the pandemic.
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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