The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations by North Korea on Wednesday.

The committee in charge of human rights issues held a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York and passed the 19th resolution of its kind since 2005 by consensus without a vote.

This year's resolution, led by European Union member states, is almost the same as last year’s but added wording related to the forced repatriation of North Korean escapees in China.

The text strongly urges all member states to respect the "fundamental principle of non-refoulement, especially in the light of a resumption of cross-border travel."

It also called for compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment with regard to North Korean escapees. 

The resolution will be presented to the plenary session of the UN General Assembly next month with South Korea, like last year, co-sponsoring the document.