North Korea: Forced Labour

(asked on 25th February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that prisoners from North Korea’s Camp 18 in Bukchang produce at least 8 million tonnes of coal annually; and what assessment they have made of whether exports of North Korean coal are in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 2375 (2017).


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 11th March 2021

The UK is aware of concerning reports that people held in prison camps are enslaved in coal production. The UK is unable to verify these reports, but we continue to call on the North Korean government to acknowledge and address the many reports of serious and wide-ranging human rights violations in the country, including the arbitrary detention of its citizens, and to allow UN human rights mechanisms unhindered access to the country.

UN Security Council Resolution 2371, passed in August 2017, banned all North Korean coal exports. The UK continues to raise with the other members of the UN Security Council our concerns about North Korea's evasion of UN sanctions and the illicit maritime export of commodities, including coal.

Reticulating Splines