South Korea Reverses Position to Support UN Crimea Resolution After Previously Abstaining

Abstained in UN Third Committee Last Month, Voted "Yes" in General Assembly
Yoon Seok-yeol Government Diplomacy, "Clearer Emphasis on Value Respect"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The government, which was criticized for abstaining from the resolution on human rights in the Crimean region of Ukraine at a UN General Assembly subsidiary committee last month, expressed support in the final vote at the plenary session.

On the 15th (local time, 16th Korean time), the Korean government voted in favor of the resolution on the human rights situation in the Crimean region at the UN General Assembly plenary session.

Korea abstained when the same resolution was presented to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, which deals with human rights issues, on the 16th of last month.

The UN General Assembly human rights resolution follows a procedure where it is voted on by the Third Committee around November each year and then finally adopted at the plenary session in December.

It is unusual for the government to cast different votes on the same UN General Assembly resolution between the Third Committee and the plenary session.

There are some precedents, such as in 2006 when the government abstained in the Third Committee on the resolution regarding "the use of mercenaries as a means of human rights violations and hindrance to the exercise of the right to self-determination" but reversed its position in the plenary session; however, such cases are known to be very rare.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "Usually, since the committee resolution and the plenary resolution under the General Assembly are about 1 to 2 months apart, the position is generally maintained as a common practice," but added, "We have also changed our position in the past."

The Crimean human rights resolution, which passed the Third Committee vote with 78 countries in favor, 14 against, and 79 abstentions, was adopted in the plenary session vote with 82 in favor, 14 against, and 80 abstentions.

This resolution expresses concern about the human rights situation in the Crimean region forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014, with Ukraine as a main sponsor.

At the time of abstention last month, the government explained that it abstained because the resolution contained many political and military elements deviating from the usual practice of human rights resolutions, such as stating that "the annexation of Crimea and other Ukrainian territories is illegal and must be immediately restored."

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "We judged that it was necessary to more clearly express the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's position respecting universal values and human rights," and added, "If our basic policy stance of respecting universal values causes much misunderstanding and suspicion among the media and the public, we thought that we might lose more than we intended to protect."

He continued, "Since Russia has been massively attacking Ukraine's infrastructure facilities as winter approaches and using the severe cold as a weapon to cause suffering to civilians, we judged that it was necessary to express our opposition to this war more clearly and broadly."

Furthermore, the official said, "We also considered the need to strengthen coordination with the international community, especially like-minded countries that share our values," and added, "Looking at the voting results, the need to correct the situation of being isolated from like-minded countries became a factor for reconsideration."

In diplomatic circles, this change in position is evaluated as a sign that value diplomacy is becoming more important in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's foreign policy.

On the 14th, Korea also voted in favor, after careful consideration, of the US-led resolution to expel Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for its harsh crackdown on hijab protests.

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