The UN General Assembly has adopted its annual resolution condemning rights abuses in North Korea.

The resolution was adopted by consensus, rather than a vote, at a plenary meeting convened at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday.


It urges the UN Security Council(UNSC) to refer the North Korean human rights situation to the International Criminal Court(ICC) for the third consecutive year and also states the need to punish those responsible.

In particular, this year’s resolution for the first time, blamed the North's leadership for human rights abuses in the country, saying crimes have been committed "pursuant to policies established at the highest level of the State for decades and by institutions under the effective control of its leadership."

It listed a plethora of human rights abuses in the North, such as the incarceration of political prisoners, torture, rape and public execution.

The new resolution also mentioned for the first time a possible link between the human rights situation and the country’s nuclear and missile program, saying the regime is appropriating its resources for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Since 2005, the chief UN body has adopted a resolution calling on Pyongyang to improve its human rights situations. This year’s resolution was drafted by Japan and the European Union. It also received support from some 70 co-sponsors, or more than a third of the UN member nations.

However, the North remains defiant of the UN’s move to press its regime over the human rights issue.

Rejecting the resolution in a speech at Monday’s UN General Assembly, a representative from the North claimed the text of the resolution was drafted for the political purpose of bringing down the North’s system by “following the hostile policy of the United States.”

The representative added that the U.S. has failed to press the North on its nuclear program, and is now trying to eliminate the North “under the guise of the human rights issue.”

Monday's passage comes after the resolution was adopted by the General Assembly's Third Committee on November 15th.