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The UN Human Rights Council has again adopted a resolution condemning the human rights situation in North Korea. 50 countries, including the United States, which returned to the United Nations Human Rights Council after three years, participated as joint proposals for this resolution drawn up by the European Union. Reporter Kim Young-gyo reports.
The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on North Korea’s human rights on the 23rd, the day before the close of the 46th regular meeting of the board in Geneva, Switzerland.
In particular, since 2016, it has been adopted in a consensus method without a vote on the resolution for six consecutive years.
“We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in North Korea,” said Louis Maseira, ambassador for the Portuguese delegation in Geneva, who spoke on behalf of the European Union that drafted the resolution.
[녹취: 마시에이라 대사] “We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with ongoing systematic, widespread and serious human rights violations, some of which may constitute crimes against humanity.”Some of the systematic, widespread and serious human rights violations that continue in North Korea are reported to be crimes against humanity.
The ambassador said that this year’s resolution aims to respond to the most urgent problems related to the human rights situation and calls on humanitarian organizations to access North Korea in the face of the new coronavirus pandemic.
[녹취: 마시에이라 대사] “The draft resolution before us aims to address the most pertinent issues on the human rights situation. In the context of the COVID 19 pandemic, the resolution calls on the DPRK to allow access for humanitarian organizations. “Ambassador Han Dae-seong from the North Korean delegation in Geneva told the meeting that he “completely reject the resolution tabled by the European Union.”
[녹취: 한대성 대사] “The delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea categorically rejects the draft resolution on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, submitted to this session.”An ambassador argued that the resolution, like previous resolutions, had a political purpose and was far from promoting or protecting genuine human rights.
China and Russia also defended North Korea’s position and stated that the adoption of the resolution should be done with the cooperation of North Korea, and that they did not agree with the adoption of the resolution.
The UN Human Rights Council Secretariat explained that seven more countries, including Canada and Costa Rica, have been added to North Korea’s co-proposal of 43 human rights resolutions at the time the draft was submitted.
The United States returned to the UN Human Rights Council three years after withdrawing in 2018 and participated as a cosponsor country.
Earlier, Secretary of State Tony Blincoln urged support for North Korea’s human rights resolution in a video address at the high-level session held last month.
Korea has not entered the co-proposal of the resolution for three consecutive years until this year.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a press release that day that it has joined the adoption of the agreement under the basic stance of working together with the international community to substantially improve the human rights of North Koreans.
Meanwhile, North Korea’s human rights resolution adopted today said it was the strongest condemnation of long-standing systematic, widespread and serious abuses in North Korea.
In particular, it clarified several human rights violations, including violations of the right to life, slavery, torture, detention, sexual assault, and forced displacement, saying that there is a reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity in North Korea they are committed in accordance with the policies of the authorities.
In addition, he said that the North Korean authorities are not punishing those responsible for various human rights violations as crimes against humanity.
He added that he welcomed the recommendations of the UN General Assembly to prioritize North Korean human rights issues for international issues, refer to the International Criminal Court for accountability and take appropriate action, such as additional penalties.
The resolution also urged North Korea to refrain from using lethal and excessive force on its residents at the border or elsewhere to respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, he demanded that staff of international organizations be allowed to operate in the country so that they can create an environment that alleviates the suffering of the North Korean people and that the international community can provide adequate support.
Furthermore, this resolution, for the first time, included the issue of human rights violations by North Korean authorities against South Korean prisoners of war and their descendants who were taken to North Korea after the Korean War.
This is the news from VOA, Kim Young-kyo.
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