Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Human Rights Watch into sexual violence against women in North Korea You Cry at Night but Don’t Know Why, published on 11 November 2018.

The UK continues to have grave concerns over the human rights situation in North Korea. The Human Rights Watch report entitled ‘You Cry at Night but Don’t Know Why’ is a stark reminder of the widespread sexual exploitation and violence against women in North Korea. The Government is committed to addressing all forms of violence against women and girls. We regularly raise human rights concerns with the DPRK authorities via our Ambassador in Pyongyang and the DPRK Embassy in London. The North Korean authorities have dismissed the report’s findings as a fabrication. We urge them to take the accounts seriously and take steps to investigate and address the abuses of power described.