UN may adopt NK resolution this week

By Jun Ji-hye

The United Nations General Assembly is highly likely to pass a resolution against North Korea, Thursday, regarding allegations of human rights abuses, which will likely lead to the issue becoming an issue for the Security Council to deliberate.

The move is expected to spark strong opposition from the repressive state that has described it as a prelude for “military aggression.”

Officials from the foreign affairs and unification ministries, as well as analysts, say it is highly likely that the resolution will gain the backing of the General Assembly.

The draft resolution earlier won overwhelming support from 111 member states during a vote at the Third Committee on Nov. 18.

The resolution calls for the referral of North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for state-perpetrated violations of human rights.

If passed in the assembly, the issue will then be sent to the Security Council for discussion by its 15 members over whether to pursue the issue further.

Experts say there is a strong possibility that the resolution will also be placed on the council agenda for debate as well, considering that ten nations including South Korea, the U.S. and Australia have already signed a letter calling for this to occur.

Under U.N. rules, backing from a minimum of nine countries is needed to advance the issue on to the agenda of the 15-member council.

“Passage through the General Assembly and a discussion of the issue at the Security Council appear to be 100 percent,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Dongguk University.

If the council adopts the resolution, Pyongyang could be referred to the ICC. But experts say the chances of this occurring are slim because China and Russia, two of the five veto-holding permanent members, are expected to oppose the referral.

“In reality, the adoption at the council will not be easy as China and Russia have already expressed their position to reject the referral,” said Prof. Kim. “The council is expected to conclude the resolution on the line aimed at raising global attention about Pyongyang’s human rights issue and delivering the demands of international society for improving the conditions.”

However, Kim added that the council’s possible dealing with the agenda could pressure the secretive state because the council can discuss the matter at any time for three years.

For its part, the North has been making all-out efforts to block the U.N. move.

Last week, its propaganda website Uriminzokkiri disclosed video clips showing that teenagers who attempted to defect from the North but were repatriated, are leading a happier life there, in what appears to be an attempt to deny allegations that they were executed.

The regime in Pyongyang also tried to take up the issue of CIA torture detailed in a report released last week, claiming that the agency’s undeniable acts of torture should be placed before the Security Council instead of the North’s human rights record.

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