Government Abstains from UN North Korea Human Rights Vote

The government abstained from a United Nations vote condemning human rights violations in North Korea, arousing controversy yesterday.

Criticisms are being raised that the government decision to abstain is because of the inter-Korean summit held this year, and that it is too lenient on North Korea and its voluntary abandonment of principle.

They point out that the government’s swing from consent last year to abstention this year lacks justification because there has been little improvement in North Korea’s human rights status since last year.

On November 21, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Cheon Ho-seon, currently accompanying President Roh Moo-hyun to Singapore, said, “Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon and Senior Presidential Security Adviser Baek Jong-cheon briefed [the President Roh] on the UN vote on the North Korean human rights resolution late on the night of November 20, and President Roh made the decision to abstain. [The decision] is the result of consideration of recent progress in inter-Korean relations.”

It was revealed that some within the government raised voices that the government’s vote in favor of the resolution could lead North Korea to refuse to hold the 2nd inter-Korean defense-ministerial meeting scheduled for November 27-29 in Pyongyang.

A government official, however, said, “It is a big misunderstanding to think that casting a favorable vote on the human rights resolution will stump inter-Korean relations.”

Among foreign ministry officials, the dominant opinion is that South Korea’s farfetched argument on the particularity of the inter-Korean relations will not bring international consensus for itself when it has the 13th largest economy based on liberal democracy.

“The government’s abstention this year is totally not understandable,” said the Association of Organizations on North Korea’s Human Rights, consisting of 40 human rights organizations in and out of the country, criticizing the government. “Peace is false when liberty and human rights are being rubbed out, and unconditional aid to North Korea in the end is aid to a despot.”

Meanwhile, a UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights violations passed the third committee of the UN General Assembly on November 20 (local time). 97 votes were in favor, 23 votes were against, and 60 abstained.

Prior to the vote, North Korea’s deputy ambassador to UN Pak Dok Hun contended, “This resolution is full of false information, is driven by evil political aims, and is irrelevant to human rights.”

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