hankyoreh

North Korea

The United Nations Human rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations in North Korean without a vote at its 19th general meeting in Geneva on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade(MOFAT) stated, March 23.

The resolution was jointly proposed by 43 countries, including South Korea The resolution denounced the torture and hard labor sentencing of repatriated North Korean defectors and political prisoners and urged guarantees that humanitarian aid from the international community be carried out under appropriate monitoring. It also extended the term of North Korean human rights special rapporteur Marzuki Darusman by one year and called on Pyongyang to allow him to visit North Korea.

North Korean human rights resolutions have been adopted at the UN Human Rights Council and UN general meetings every year since 2003, when the first was adopted by voting at the UN Commission on Human Rights (today's UNHRC).

This is the first time a resolution has been adopted without a vote. North Korea's allies in the council did not call for a vote, and instead allowed the resolution the resolution to pass by consensus. The council ended its four-week session on March 23, 2012.

South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Rhyou Bok-ryeol called it a "confirmation that the international community agrees about the serious nature of the North Korean human rights situation."

Under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, the South Korean government abstained from resolutions in consideration of relations with Pyongyang. But the Lee Myung-bak administration has participated in the joint proposal of the resolution since it came into office in 2008 as a means of taking part in efforts by the international community to improve the human rights situation in North Korea.

North Korean ambassador to Geneva So Se-pyong repudiated the UNHRC resolution, calling it "the product of a political conspiracy fomented by hostile forces," the AFP and other news agencies reported.

Of the 47 UNHRC member nations, China, Russia, and Cuba stated their objections for a second straight year at the meeting, but did not request a vote.

The UNHRC is empowered to adopt resolutions on the authority of those present when none of the member nations requests a vote.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]