UN confronts North Korea over crimes against humanity

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United Nations is preparing to confront North Korea over its dismal rights record with a key vote this week that could compel Pyongyang to answer to crimes against humanity.

A UN General Assembly committee will vote Tuesday on a resolution drafted by the European Union and Japan condemning human rights abuses in North Korea and calling for a war crimes probe.

While North Korea often features on the roster of resolutions targeting pariah states, the latest text has been the focus of intense diplomacy over provisions that could see the Pyongyang regime in the dock at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The resolution draws heavily from a UN report released in February that detailed a vast network of prison camps and provided accounts of torture, summary executions and rape, mostly from testimony from North Korean exiles.

Responsibility for these crimes lies at the highest level of the state, according to the report by the UN inquiry, which concluded that the atrocities amounted to crimes against humanity.

The landmark report stirred alarm in Pyongyang, which launched a dip- lomatic offensive to ensure the key provisions urging the Security Council to refer Pyongyang to the Hague-based ICC were scrapped.

Rushing to North Korea’s defense, Cuba last week presented an amendment – that will also be put to a vote – dropping all references to the ICC and instead encouraging cooperation through fact-finding visits and talks with the UN rights office.