GENEVA: A United Nations committee said Wednesday (Sep 3) there were credible reports that North Korea was conducting medical experiments on disabled people, performing forced sterilisations and killing handicapped babies.
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said such experiments were reportedly being carried out without free and informed consent in paediatric institutions and detention facilities.
“Credible reports indicate that medical and scientific experiments are conducted on persons with psychosocial disabilities and/or intellectual disabilities,” the committee said.
It voiced alarm about reports of women with disabilities being subjected to forced sterilisation and forced abortion.
“The committee is deeply concerned about credible reports of infanticide of children with disabilities, including accounts of killings carried out in medical facilities with official consent,” it said.
Committee member Mara Gabrilli told reporters they had also heard reports of people with disabilities being used for clinical trials without consent.
She said they had urged Pyongyang to immediately criminalise all such experiments, ensure independent oversight of institutions, and establish mechanisms to provide redress.
“At the heart of this issue is a reminder that persons with disabilities are not objects of treatment or experimentation but equal human beings … entitled to bodily integrity, autonomy and respect,” she said.
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