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Special Briefing on N. Korea's Human Rights Held at UN
2014-10-29 Updated.
 
Anchor: A special briefing on North Korea’s human rights conditions was held at the UN on Tuesday as the world body is expected to adopt a new resolution on the North’s human rights next month. North Korea, on its part, met with UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea Marzuki Darusman as part of its efforts to block the passage of the new resolution.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea Marzuki Darusman gave a special briefing on Tuesday at the UN on North Korea’s human rights situation.
 
At the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, Darusman urged the General Assembly to refer a report issued by the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on wide-ranging and ongoing crimes against humanity in the North to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
 
In particular, Darusman stressed the need for the UN Security Council to play an active role in resolving the North’s human rights issues as he urged the General Assembly to submit the COI report to the Security Council.

Given that North Korea is not a member state of the court, only the Security Council can refer the North to the ICC, which handles crimes against humanity.
 
The special rapporteur, meanwhile, did not mention at Tuesday's briefing the recommendations he had made in a report distributed ahead of the briefing in which he said those responsible for human rights violations in the North should be referred to the ICC.

Darusman's briefing came a day after he held talks with North Korean officials. The meeting was the first of its kind to be held since the UN began to tackle the North’s human rights issue ten years ago.
 
Darusman said the North offered him or other UN human rights agents a visit to North Korea. He said he welcomes signs of increased engagement by the North with the Human Rights Council and the international community.
 
The briefing also came as South Korea, the EU and Japan are pushing for the adoption of a new UN resolution on improving human rights conditions in the communist state.
 
North Korea, China and Iran have claimed that making an attack with political motives on the human rights conditions of a country that has guaranteed sovereign power goes against the UN’s fundamental spirit.

The draft resolution drawn up by the European Union and Japan will be submitted to the Third Committee by Friday. The resolution is expected to be passed at the committee around mid-November and adopted by the UN General Assembly in mid-December. 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News. 
 
 
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