The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights violations and calling for accountability for the 24th consecutive year.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Monday, the North Korean human rights resolution was adopted by consensus at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Fifty countries, including South Korea, participated as co-sponsors.
This marks the 24th consecutive year that the UN Human Rights Council has adopted a North Korean human rights resolution, and the 11th year it has been adopted by consensus without a vote.
The resolution emphasizes that North Korea’s human rights situation is intrinsically linked to international peace and security. It highlights that the North Korean government continues to fund its illegal nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs through human rights abuses, including forced labor, while diverting resources from public welfare to military spending.
The resolution also incorporates content from last year’s comprehensive report on North Korean human rights by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It points out specific human rights violations, such as restrictions on freedom of movement and expression, and calls for improvements.
As in previous years, the resolution emphasizes the immediate cessation of human rights violations across the entire penal system, including forced labor, torture, and abuses in all detention facilities, including political prison camps.
Additionally, humanitarian issues are addressed, including calls for the immediate repatriation of abductees and the resumption of family reunions. The resolution also newly encourages the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which outline corporate responsibility to respect human rights and state obligations to protect them.
The resolution welcomes North Korea’s participation in the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and stresses the importance of dialogue, engagement, and cooperation, including inter-Korean dialogue, to improve human rights and humanitarian conditions in North Korea.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it notes the UN Human Rights Council’s recognition of North Korea’s efforts and its emphasis on the importance of dialogue and engagement, including inter-Korean dialogue, to improve the human rights situation in North Korea.
The ministry further emphasized that the government will continue to collaborate with the international community to ensure substantial improvements in the human rights of North Korean citizens.
The Lee Jae Myung administration, which prioritizes a peaceful coexistence process on the Korean Peninsula, ultimately decided to join as a co-sponsor of the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on North Korean human rights after careful deliberation. This decision is seen as a reflection of South Korea’s status as a democratic nation in the international community. It also suggests an assessment that even if the government had chosen not to participate as a co-sponsor, there was little likelihood that North Korea would ease its hostile actions toward South Korea.
The UN adopts resolutions on North Korean human rights biannually through the Human Rights Council in the first half of the year and the General Assembly in the second half. South Korea participated as a co-sponsor from 2008 to 2018 but abstained from 2019 to 2021 during the Moon Jae-in administration, considering inter-Korean relations. Following the inauguration of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in 2022, South Korea resumed its role as a co-sponsor, and the Lee administration also participated as a co-sponsor during the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution last November.