The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations by North Korea and calling for efforts to address the matter. 

The resolution marks the 16th of its kind since 2005. 

The General Assembly passed the resolution by consensus without a vote, condemning "in the strongest terms, the systematic, widespread and gross violations" of human rights by North Korean authorities. It's the seventh time that the General Assembly passed the resolution by consensus. 

The resolution also expressed "very serious concern" about what it called "persistent reports of torture and sexual and gender-based violence."

This year's resolution, led by European Union member states, is almost the same as previous years, but added concerns that the humanitarian crisis in North Korea may deteriorate quickly due to its limited capabilities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.