The government's abstention Tuesday from voting on a U.N. committee draft resolution on alleged human rights violation in North Korea will likely trigger dispute. It is a somewhat awkward U-turn since the nation backed a similar draft last year. The government did not attend the U.N. voting in 2003 and abstained from the sessions in 2004 and 2005. Last year's yes vote was the first.
We understand that the government has been in a dilemma regarding the matter. If it supported the resolution, it worried about the possible negative impact upon inter-Korean relations, which have been progressing smoothly, prompted by the historic second inter-Korean summit talks early October. Additionally, there has been tangible progress in bids to disable North Korea's nuclear facilities as agreed in the six-party talks. The Unification Ministry, in particular, has been afraid disrupting North Korea's reconciliatory mood could result in actions such as a boycott of the defense ministers' talks slated for Nov. 27-29.
The just-ended inter-Korean prime ministers' talks managed to lay the ground for implementing the broad-range agreement reached by President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The two Koreas have engaged in close consultations regarding the creation of peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, and much-touted economic cooperation and exchange projects. There has been in-depth debate in the process of determining the government's final stance over the matter. Foreign ministry officials are said to have called for the backing of the U.N. resolution given the need to maintain consistency in human rights diplomacy.
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Song Min-soon earlier said North Korea's human rights situation should be improved and that is the reason the Seoul government supported the U.N. resolution last year. ``This is the official stance of the Korean government,'' he said during a media briefing. But Cheong Wa Dae and the Unification Ministry preferred abstention in order not to put a damper on inter-Korean relations.
The nation's backing of the resolution last year was a strategic choice to join hands with neighboring countries to press the North to stop its nuclear tests. It also felt the need to clarify its stance on the human rights issue, a common value of humankind, as the country that produced the secretary general of the U.N. North Korea has failed to improve its human rights situation despite the steady progress in inter-Korean relations and the ending of the nuclear standoff. It has also been preventing the entry of U.N. human rights officials into the reclusive nation.
The government deserves criticism, as the current decision will likely lead the country to lose credibility in the international community due to its double standards on the issue. The nation was chosen as a founding member of the U.N. Human Rights Council in May last year. Had we backed the U.N. resolution there would surely have been some loss in inter-Korean relations. But such damage is not as serious as failing to clarify our stance regarding human rights on the global stage.