A U.N. committee has voiced concern about “credible reports” that North Korea conducts medical experiments on persons with disabilities, killing disabled babies and performing forced sterilizations and abortions on women.

In a report published Wednesday, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) drew attention to the human rights abuses perpetrated by the North Korean state against citizens with disabilities, stating that they  face “persistent stigma” and “negative societal attitudes.” 

The CRPD highlighted the continued segregationof North Koreans with disabilities, with many such individuals — including persons of short stature — institutionalized in isolated settlements and