Despite the nation having affirmed four key international human rights treaties and having a constitution that posits a range of human rights protections (Human Rights Watch 2015). In practice, the government represses every form of individual expression of thought, including religious freedom and freedom of the press, limits the movement of its citizens: at a national and international level, with forced settlements as punishment for political reasons, it blocks every form of humanitarian aid for its citizens during the food crisis of the 1990s and diverted resources to the military (Haggard & Noland 2005). Consequently, any rebellion, including an attempt to leave the country, would result in incarceration, without trial, in which prisoners would be subjected to torture, sexual violence, forced abortions, public executions, and forced slave labor by the authorities (Bureau of Democracy; 2005;