For the first time, the human rights
situation in North Korea has been adopted to the UN Security Council’s agenda.
The landmark decision took place on December 22nd with 11 of the 15 total
member states voting in favor of the move, two opposing, and two in abstention.
Predictably, Russia and China were the two
member states voting down the issue’s inclusion on the formal docket, with
Nigeria and Chad abstaining; South Korea, the United States, and the United
Kingdom were among the 11 nations supporting the matter’s adoption to the
agenda, bringing the final count to two more than the required number of votes to incorporate the issue into the Council’s formal discussions.
This groundbreaking decision marks the
third time the Council will take up human rights issues in any nation: the
first involved Zimbabwe in 2005 followed by Myanmar in 2006. The latter two cases were
brought to the discussion table unilaterally by the Council, making the North
Korea’s case the first where the issue has been adopted to the agenda in consideration of a resolution passed by the
General Assembly.
Initially, expectations for the the Council
to take place the item on the agenda were low, but after the Third Committee of
the UN’s General Assembly initially passed a draft resolution on human rights
conditions in North Korea–which includes a recommendation for Pyongyang’s referral to International Criminal Court– with overwhelming support, the international community
stepped up its efforts to urge the Security Council to implement follow-up
measures addressing the matter.
The Security Council’s decision is expected
to receive a strong response from North Korea, especially given that according
to Council procedures, the issue may be brought up at any time for the
duration of three years.
North Korea, though allowed by procedure to make a statement at the meeting sharing its position, failed to make an appearance.
“The government welcomes this decision by
the UN Security Council to add human rights issues in North Korea to the agenda
and the beginning of discussion on the matter,” a spokesperson for South
Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 22nd.
“This serves as recognition that the human
rights conditions in North Korea are concerns that influence not only the
security and peace in Northeast Asia but the entire world,” he continued.
“Henceforth, we hope for the Security Council to engage in in-depth
discussions, including the recommendations listed in the North Korean human
rights resolution recently passed by the General Assembly, for the betterment
of human rights in North Korea.”
“We again urge North Korea to accept
international demands to put measures in place so that all its residents enjoy
freedom and human rights,” he concluded.
