Resolution on NK's human rights violations presented to UN committee

A draft resolution accusing North Korea's leadership of serious human rights violations was presented to the United Nations General Assembly's committee Thursday for a review for official adoption, officials said.

Upon the introduction to the General Assembly's Third Committee dealing with social, cultural and humanitarian issues, the draft resolution led by Japan and the European Union entered the process of circulation among UN members for approval, according to UN officials.

The committee may reportedly convene a meeting of all UN members to vote on the resolution's passage. Then the resolution will be moved to the General Assembly for final approval.

Since 2005, the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution condemning North Korea's dire human rights situation every year.

The latest draft resolution recommends the UN Security Council refer the North Korean human rights situation to the International Criminal Court as did the corresponding resolutions in 2014 and 2015, according to the officials. 

This year's resolution newly specified that human rights violations in North Korea are being perpetrated by organizations that are the effective control of the North Korean leadership, closing in more on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his leadership. 

The draft also freshly shed light on human rights violations being inflicted on North Korean workers sent overseas that have their income confiscated by North Korean authorities for foreign currency, the officials said.

It also points out North Korea's repeated nuclear and missile tests are negatively affecting the country's human rights conditions, according to the officials.

North Korea has long denied accusations of human right violations and reacted angrily to the resolutions, claiming they are part of US-led efforts to topple the regime. (Yonhap)