EU Sanctions North Korean Minister & Prison for Severe Human Rights Violations

In July 2024, the European Union imposed targeted human rights sanctions on North Korea’s Minister of State Security, Ri Chang Dae, and the Onsong County Ministry of State Security Detention Centre for widespread and systematic human rights violations.

The EU's decision to impose sanctions was based on a comprehensive case file submitted by Korea Future in November 2023, which contained extensive primary evidence from victims, witnesses, and former state agents. Our evidence, which met strict legal standards, detailed widespread sexual and gender-based violence, including invasive body cavity searches and violations of reproductive rights, that were linked to the now sanctioned entities.

The EU’s decision to impose sanctions represented a watershed moment in the global fight for human rights in North Korea. It was, and remains, the first-ever instance where a civil society organisation has documented evidence and led a legal submission resulting in the sanctioning of a North Korean official or entity for human rights violations.

Targeted human rights sanctions are specific measures aimed at individuals or entities responsible for serious human rights violations. They are not the same as broad economic or financial sanctions against a country. Human rights sanctions include travel bans and the freezing of assets of perpetrators, directly holding them accountable without penalising the country’s population.