UN Security Council Holds Open Discussion on North Korean Human Rights for the First Time in 6 Years

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an open meeting to discuss North Korean human rights issues. It was the first time in about six years since 2017.

On the 17th (local time), the Security Council held an open meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York and put forward the agenda on North Korean human rights issues jointly submitted earlier by South Korea, the United States, and Japan. At the meeting, China and Russia, which were initially expected to oppose, did not express opposition, and the agenda for discussing North Korean human rights issues was adopted without a procedural vote.

China and Russia are analyzed to have refrained from publicly opposing the agenda considering that it had already secured the necessary support for adoption during a procedural vote. In a procedural vote, if nine or more of the 15 member states vote in favor, the agenda is adopted without the veto power of permanent members.

Before the statements from member states, Elizabeth Salm?n, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in North Korea, reported that human rights abuses such as torture and forced labor continue in North Korea.

The Security Council had held North Korean human rights meetings for four consecutive years from 2014 to 2017, but no meetings have been held since the December 2017 session.

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