A key U.N. committee handling human rights issues plans to approve by Friday a draft resolution expressing concern over the violation of human rights in North Korean prison camps that detain political prisoners and captured escapees.

The draft statement notes that torture and inhumane punishments take place in the North and that numerous gulags exist in the Stalinist nation, where the detainees are subject to forced labor.

The resolution also expresses grave concern over punishment of North Korean escapees who were repatriated or deported from third countries. The draft resolution also said that on humanitarian grounds, the reunions for family members who were separated by the Korean War must resume as soon as possible.

The resolution was jointly submitted by 49 nations, including South Korea and European Union member nations. The U.N. committee has annually adopted a resolution on human rights violations in North Korea since 2005.