AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

esidents agreed that permanent residents
would each receive 20,000 Kenya shillings
(around US$200) and that this would not be
recognized as covering losses incurred in the
forced eviction.
Representatives of the Sengwer
Indigenous People reported that Kenya
Forest Service repeatedly burned houses in
Embobut forest. Local courts heard cases
concerning Sengwer people who had been
arrested for being in the forest, despite a
pending court case brought by Sengwer to
challenge their eviction and a 2013
injunction issued by the High Court of Eldoret
to stop arrests and evictions while the legal
challenge was being considered.
1. Kenya: Set up judicial inquiry into hundreds of enforced
disappearances and killings (News story, 30 August)
2. Kenya: Investigate police crackdown against protesters (News story,
17 May)
3. Kenya: Government officials coercing refugees back to war-torn
Somalia (News story, 15 November)
KOREA
(DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLE’S
REPUBLIC OF)
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Head of state: Kim Jong-un
Head of government: Pak Pong-ju
Citizens of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (North Korea) continued
to suffer violations of most aspects of their
human rights. North Koreans and foreign
nationals were arbitrarily detained and
sentenced after unfair trials for criminal
“offences” that were not internationally
recognized. Severe restrictions on the right
to freedom of expression continued.
Thousands of North Koreans were sent by
the authorities to work abroad, often under
harsh conditions. The number of North
Koreans fleeing their country and arriving in
the Republic of Korea (South Korea)
increased.
BACKGROUND
The government tested nuclear weapons
twice, once in January and again in
September, increasing tension between North
Korea and the international community. The
UN increased its economic sanctions on
North Korea as a result, leading to fears from
inside the country and from foreign experts of
heightened food shortages and a further
deterioration in living standards. Experts
considered the possible economic impact to
be a motivation for more people leaving the
country, but the risk of political purges in the
form of imprisonment and reported
executions among the ruling elite was seen
as a key contributing factor.
The Korean Workers’ Party held its
congress in May for the first time in 36 years.
Journalists from international media were
invited to the country for the occasion, but
operated under strict restrictions and were
not allowed to cover congress meetings.
Severe floods in August killed at least 138
people and displaced 69,000 others,
according to the World Food Programme.
The government asked for humanitarian
assistance including food, shelter, water and
sanitation but international response was
minimal due to concerns expressed by
potential donors about the country’s nuclear
programme.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
A total of 1,414 people left North Korea and
arrived in South Korea. The figure increased
by 11% from 2015, and rose for the first time
since 2011 when Kim Jong-un came to
power.
Along with reports of ordinary North
Koreans leaving, media in South Korea and
Japan reported several high profile
government officials deserting their posts and
seeking asylum. The South Korean
government confirmed in August the arrival
of Thae Young-ho, North Korea’s deputy
ambassador to the UK and his family.
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