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UN Security Council to introduce N.K. human rights as an agenda

UN Security Council to introduce N.K. human rights as an agenda

Posted December. 17, 2014 04:02,   

한국어

As the U.N. General Assembly is about to adopt a resolution on North Korea’s human rights at its plenary session, and the U.N. Security Council plans to introduce the North’s human rights issue as an agenda, Pyongyang has started "countering diplomacy," suggesting that the UNSC deal with torture committed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency as an agenda as well.

The resolution on the North’s human rights, which recommends referring of "the North’s leader in charge of human rights to the International Court of Justice, will be adopted at the plenary session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday (U.S. time). After passing the third committee in charge of human rights by an overwhelming majority (111 in favor, 19 opposed, and 55 abstaining) on Nov. 18, the resolution will highly likely see more yea votes in the plenary session.

Submission the agenda of the North’s human rights issue to the UNSC for the first time ever will be made as early as Monday next week. Chad`s Ambassador to the UN Cherif Mahamat Zene, who is the UNSC chairman, said on Monday that the UN Security Council will hold a UNSC meeting on the North Korean issue on Monday or Tuesday next week. UN officials said that though 10 UNSC member states, including South Korea, the U.S., Britain, France, and Australia, demanded a submission of the agenda on Thursday or Friday, but it will be submitted according to the chairman’s opinion.

In contrast, Ja Song Nam, head of North Korea’s mission to the U.N., sent a letter to the UNSC chairman on the day, saying, that "The CIA’s crime of torture is the gravest violation of human rights in the world. Since it poses immediate threat to maintaining international peace and security, the issue should be urgently handled at the UNSC.” In a separate press release, he also blasted the U.S., saying, “As evidenced by successive killings of black people (by white policemen), the U.S. is the main culprit of human rights violation where serious racial discrimination is committed .”

The North Korean embassy also sent e-mails including the message and documents to Korean correspondents in New York. As the referring of its "Supreme dignity" to the International Court of Justice has surfaced as a hot issue, the North is apparently staging proactive diplomacy of defense in recent weeks.