UN Adopts North Korea Human Rights Resolution for 16th Consecutive Year... North Korea "Firmly Opposes, Fabrication and Patchwork by Defectors" Reacts (Comprehensive)

Consensus Adopted for 16 Consecutive Years by UN Third Committee... South Korea Joins Consensus
Resolution Expresses Concern Over Negative Impact of COVID-19 on North Korea's Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The North Korea Human Rights Resolution was adopted by consensus (unanimous agreement) without a vote on the 18th (local time) at the 3rd Committee of the 75th United Nations General Assembly. While North Korea immediately protested, saying it "firmly opposes," this resolution has been adopted for 16 consecutive years since 2005 and is scheduled to be submitted to the UN General Assembly plenary session in December.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 19th, the 3rd Committee, responsible for human rights issues, held a meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA, and passed the North Korea Human Rights Resolution, which criticizes North Korea's human rights violations and urges improvements. The resolution was adopted by consensus without a vote as no member state requested a vote. South Korea did not join as a co-sponsor for the second consecutive year but participated in the consensus.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "The South Korean government, under the basic position of working with the international community to ensure the practical improvement of human rights for North Korean residents, participated in the consensus adoption of the resolution this year as it did last year."

This resolution, compared to the 74th UN General Assembly resolution last year, generally maintains the existing wording regarding the North Korean human rights situation, with some clauses newly added or revised. The resolution expresses concern about the negative impact of COVID-19 on North Korea's human rights and humanitarian situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasizes the need for restrictions in response to COVID-19 to comply with international human rights law.

The resolution also highlights the urgency and importance of the separated families issue related to the Korean Peninsula situation and underscores the importance of dialogue and engagement, including inter-Korean dialogue. It further contains provisions encouraging countries maintaining dialogue channels with North Korea to continue supporting the establishment of lasting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and to address human rights issues, while urging all countries to support efforts to improve dialogue related to humanitarian and human rights situations within North Korea, including inter-Korean dialogue and international abductions.

The resolution does not include the incident in September where a South Korean official was shot by North Korean soldiers. Previously, Thomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, condemned North Korea regarding the incident and called for compensation to the bereaved families. This resolution only states that it "welcomes the recent report of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea."

North Korea immediately protested. Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the UN, said, "We firmly oppose" and pointed out that it is a "political tactic unrelated to genuine promotion and protection of human rights." He further claimed, "Hostile forces fabricated false information concocted by human scum defectors," and insisted, "There are no human rights violations mentioned in the resolution in North Korea at all."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.