U.N. Rights Panel Censures North Korea
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights censured North Korea on Thursday for “widespread and grave violations,” including torture, executions and forced abortions.
The commission, whose 53 member states are attending an annual session, urged the regime in Pyongyang to cooperate with its special investigator, Vitit Muntarbhorn, whom North Korea has not allowed to visit.
The resolution, brought by the European Union and Japan, was adopted 30 to 9, with 14 abstentions, including South Korea. The measure expressed deep concern about torture, public executions, arbitrary detention, infanticide, imposition of the death penalty for political reasons, the existence of a “large number of prison camps” and extensive use of forced labor.
Pyongyang’s delegation reacted angrily, accusing the forum of “politicization, selectivity and double standards.”
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