The U.N. Security Council will begin informal discussions on human rights violations in North Korea later this week, the U.S. government said Wednesday, amid keen international attention to the problem following the release of a U.N. panel report in February.
The council's members plan to open an "Arria formula meeting" on the issue at the U.N. headquarters in New York at 3 p.m. on Thursday, according to the State Department.
Samantha Power, Washington's permanent representative to the U.N., will engaged in "interactive discussion" during "this important first discussion" by Security Council members, according to a press release.
Amb. Robert King, special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will also join the session, it added.
The Arria formula meeting was co-sponsored by the United States, France and Australia, it said.
The "Arria-formula meetings" are informal and confidential gatherings that enable Security Council members to have a frank and private exchange of views on issues related to international peace and security.
The process is named after Amb. Diego Arria of Venezuela who initiated it while the representative for Venezuela on the council.
The council has come under growing pressure to take steps against human rights abuses prevalent in the communist nation, especially since the Commission of Inquiry (COI) made public the results of its one-year investigation.
The COI, created by the U.N. Human Rights Council, said North Korean leaders are responsible for "widespread, systematic and gross" violations of human rights there.
It added their "crimes against humanity" should be handled by the International Criminal Court, calling on the Security Council to play a role in the process.
A setback, however, is China's refusal to deal with the North Korean human rights issue in the council. (Yonhap)