The UN Security Council (UNSC) convened a public meeting on June 12 to discuss the issue of human rights in North Korea.
Under the chairmanship of Hwang Joon Kook, South Korea’s ambassador to the UN and the presiding country for June, the UNSC conducted an official meeting on North Korean human rights.
This meeting on North Korean human rights marks the 10th anniversary of the publication report by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea, which set a milestone in discussions on North Korean human rights in the international community. It is the second consecutive year this meeting has been held, following its convening last August after a six-year hiatus.
This meeting is significant because it is the first meeting led and convened by South Korea as the UNSC’s presiding country.
The UNSC initially held an official meeting on North Korean human rights for four consecutive years from 2014 to 2017, but it has not been held since the December 2017 meeting. The shift to dialogue mode between North Korea and the United States in 2018 had an influence. Russia and China requested a procedural vote, raising objections to convening the official meeting on North Korean human rights. They called it “unfair interference in internal affairs” so a procedural vote was conducted.
However, the meeting was held with 12 out of 15 UNSC member countries voting in favor. China and Russia cast dissenting votes, while Mozambique abstained. In a procedural vote, the veto power of permanent members does not apply and the agenda is adopted if nine or more countries vote in favor.
All meetings on North Korean human rights held from 2014 to 2017 proceeded with a procedural vote, but the meeting convened last August after a six-year hiatus commenced without one.
At the time of the meeting in 2023, it seemed likely that Russia and China would oppose, but it appears that they did not request a procedural vote once it was known that more than nine countries had secured favorable votes.
The current meeting on North Korean human rights includes reports from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea Elizabeth Salmon. A statement from a representative of civil society (a North Korean defector) is also scheduled.
The statements from UNSC member countries will follow, starting with the United States, the penholder (document drafting country) on North Korean human rights issues. As the presiding country of the UNSC, South Korea is scheduled to make the final statement among the member countries.
If North Korea requests to participate in the meeting, they can attend and make a statement according to UNSC rules. So far, there has been no request for participation. North Korea also did not participate in the 2023 meeting.
Before the meeting, 57 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, and the European Union (EU), held a joint press conference and read a press statement urging improvements in North Korean human rights.
Hwang read the press statement on behalf of the countries who support convening an official UNSC meeting on North Korean human rights. It was also South Korea’s first time reading a press statement.
They stated, “Today, we continue to witness a worsening human rights crisis as North Korea engages in increasingly provocative behavior. North Korea continues to commit organized and widespread human rights abuses and atrocities.” They emphasized, “We urge all UN member states to participate in actions to bring about concrete changes that can improve the welfare of the North Korean people and contribute to a peaceful and safe world.”