North Korea lambasts UNHRC after passing of resolution on country's human rights situation

North Korea Foreign Ministry lambasted the United Nations Human Rights Council for adopting “arbitrary” Western standards to attack its human rights situation. Criticising the UN human rights council, the foreign ministry said that the UN council’s adoption of human rights resolutions is against “particular countries” and it was against their rules of treating human rights issues in a “fair, equal” way, reported Yonhap news agency.

The statement by the foreign ministry came after the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee approved a resolution condemning the human rights violations in North Korea for the 17th consecutive year.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry criticised the UN Human Rights Council and mentioned that it has become a place where they criticise “independent, developing nations under the arbitrary Western standard,” the Yonhap news agency reported citing the foreign ministry. The ministry in the statement claimed that the special rapporteurs on North Korea human rights conditions belong to the countries that do not follow Western values. Furthermore, the North Korean foreign ministry stated that the special rapporteurs are selected without having any discussions with the member states. 

North Korea Foreign Ministry criticises UN human rights council 

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the current Special Rapporteur, a lawyer from Argentina has been appointed by the Human Rights Council in 2016, succeeding Marzuki Darusman from Indonesia who previously served as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in North Korea.

Furthermore, the North Korean foreign ministry in the statement said that the United States and other western nations need to stop “coercion” and “tyranny” to improve human rights. As per the Yonhap news agency report, the UN has been adopting the resolution on North Korea’s human rights issues each year since 2005.

The United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee Committee on 17 November, approved a draft resolution on the human rights situation in North Korea. Earlier, the representative of North Korea rejected the United Nations General Assembly's draft resolution. The North Korean representative asserted that the decision of UNGA threatened the integrity of his country, according to the United Nations.

Furthermore, the country's representative criticised the United States and the European Union for attempting to give lessons on human rights. He further rejected any interference in his country’s internal affairs, calling the draft a "manifestation of the politicization". 

Image: AP