U.N. Commission on Human Rights Presents North Korean Human Rights Act

The third resolution on North Korean Human Rights led by the European Union (EU) and Japan was officially placed on the agenda at the 61st session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights on April 11.

The resolution presented this year is remarkable in that 45 countries, up three countries compared to last year, have jointly initiated the resolution, and in that Japan has unusually taken the lead from the drafting stage.

The resolution includes measures to extend the tenure of a special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea appointed last year and to urge the U.N. bodies, including the U.N. General Assembly and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), to multilaterally deal with the North Korean human rights issue in order to make North Korea change its current attitude.

The resolution also details content insisting that the U.N. bodies solve the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea as soon as possible, which would draw resistance from North Korea.

The E.U. and other nations that originated the resolution expressed their concern over the North’s inhumane treatment, such as torturing and giving the death penalty to North Korean defectors repatriated by China.

The resolution is expected to be submitted to a vote on April 15.

South Korea abstained from voting when the North Korean human rights resolution was adopted in 2003, and it abstained from voting on the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 last year.

Dong-Keun Keum gold@donga.com