UN official calls for more work with disabled in North Korea

By Song Su-hyun

Published : May 8, 2017 - 20:50

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PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- A United Nations official visiting North Korea is calling for more attention to disabled people in the socialist state.

The UN special rapporteur on the rights of people with disabilities, Catalina Devandas Aguilar, talked to a small group of foreign and North Korean media at a news conference on Monday, the last full day of her eight-day trip to Pyongyang.

Catalina Devandas Aguilar, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of people with disabilities (Yonhap)

She urged the UN and other international organizations to "make all of their projects inclusive of persons with disabilities and to mainstream disabilities in all of their humanitarian strategies and programs in the country."

She is the first UN official designated by the international body's Human Rights Council to be allowed to enter North Korea. The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea has not visited, nor did any of his predecessors.

In recent years, North Korean authorities have tried to promote work to take care of people with disabilities, as international criticism of human rights in North Korea has grown.

UN official calls for more work with disabled in North Korea

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