By Kim Hyo-jin
The European Union and Japan were to submit a draft resolution on North Korean human rights to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
It calls for the referral of the reclusive state's human rights situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Thursday.
It is the first time the ICC referral of the issue has been mentioned in a UNHRC draft resolution.
RFA reported that the new draft calls for penalties for people involved in human rights abuses, tackles the foreign abductee issue and supports a U.N. field office.
The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights will open its field office in Seoul in late March to investigate human rights violations in the North.
On March 26 and 27, the council will decide whether to adopt the draft following the U.N. General Assembly.
"The mood of the member nations indicates that the draft resolution is highly likely to be adopted," said Kwon Eun-kyoung, the head of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea Secretariat. She said the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report raised awareness about North Korea's human rights abuse.
The U.N. has increased pressure on Pyongyang to tackle its human rights violations since the COI filed an official report documenting the issue early last year.
The report called for the North's human rights abuses to be dealt with at the ICC as "crimes against humanity."
It led the U.N. General Assembly officially to adopt a firm resolution in December that asked the U.N. Security Council to refer North Korea to the ICC.
Amid increasing pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has rejected accusations of human rights abuses. During the HRC session on March 3, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong voiced his displeasure at the international moves.
He said the U.N. resolution on North Korea's human rights be invalidated as it was based on what he claimed was false testimony by a North Korean defector named Shin Dong-hyuk.
The European Union and Japan were to submit a draft resolution on North Korean human rights to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
It calls for the referral of the reclusive state's human rights situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Thursday.
It is the first time the ICC referral of the issue has been mentioned in a UNHRC draft resolution.
RFA reported that the new draft calls for penalties for people involved in human rights abuses, tackles the foreign abductee issue and supports a U.N. field office.
The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights will open its field office in Seoul in late March to investigate human rights violations in the North.
On March 26 and 27, the council will decide whether to adopt the draft following the U.N. General Assembly.
"The mood of the member nations indicates that the draft resolution is highly likely to be adopted," said Kwon Eun-kyoung, the head of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea Secretariat. She said the U.N. Commission of Inquiry (COI) report raised awareness about North Korea's human rights abuse.
The U.N. has increased pressure on Pyongyang to tackle its human rights violations since the COI filed an official report documenting the issue early last year.
The report called for the North's human rights abuses to be dealt with at the ICC as "crimes against humanity."
It led the U.N. General Assembly officially to adopt a firm resolution in December that asked the U.N. Security Council to refer North Korea to the ICC.
Amid increasing pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has rejected accusations of human rights abuses. During the HRC session on March 3, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong voiced his displeasure at the international moves.
He said the U.N. resolution on North Korea's human rights be invalidated as it was based on what he claimed was false testimony by a North Korean defector named Shin Dong-hyuk.
