Overview
The DPR Korea became a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1990 and to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 2001. It has an impressive body of laws committing the state to the realization of children’s and women’s rights. The economy of the DPR Korea suffered significantly from the dissolution of the socialist bloc that provided a market for its industrial goods and was a source of cheap and subsidized raw materials including fuel. Combined with widespread natural disasters in the mid-1990s and limited interaction with the world economy, this led to a sharp economic downturn seriously constraining the government’s ability to feed and care for its people. Following an appeal to the international community in 1995, the DPR Korea has benefited from much-needed large-scale humanitarian relief. According to government figures, from 1993 to 1998, per capita income declined from US$ 991 to US$ 457; the infant mortality rate increased from 14 to 24 per thousand live births and the under-five mortality rate from 27 to 50. This increase in child mortality resulted from acute food shortages combined with heightened morbidity and reduced capacity of the health system to manage childhood illness, caused by a severe shortage of essential drugs and general degradation of health infrastructure and water and sanitation systems. The main causes of child deaths are diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections, with malnutrition presumed to underlie around half of these deaths. HIV/AIDS has not yet impacted DPR Korea; officially there are no cases, and vigilance is quite high. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the epidemic sweeping Asia will pass any country by, and preventive measures, especially adequate information to young people will be urgently needed. Child labour and other forms of exploitation are illegal, and there are no recorded instances in the country. Similarly, however, vigilance is needed to ensure that child exploitation issues do not arise. Women have equal status with men in law but they also shoulder a double burden of holding down full-time employment and carrying all household responsibilities. The 2002 nutrition assessment found that 32 percent of the mothers examined were malnourished, an important factor contributing to the continuing very high level of stunting in children. The maternal mortality ratio was estimated to be 105 per 100,000 live births in 1998 despite low fertility (average of 2 children per family) and high average age of women at marriage (24-26 years). For the DPR Korea to exit from its humanitarian emergency, extensive development cooperation is needed alongside the humanitarian assistance that is vital to assure the survival, growth and development of children. Without reducing that humanitarian assistance, more needs to be done to build the capacity for development – which will also increase effectiveness of humanitarian aid.
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