North Korea attacks EU and Japan over human rights report it deems ‘vicious slander’
The text calls on Pyongyang to “immediately close the political prison camps” that a UN commission of inquiry has said are holding up to 100,000 North Koreans in appalling conditions.
North Korea on Tuesday rejected as “vicious slander” a UN draft resolution condemning widespread rights violations in the reclusive country and urged co-authors Japan and the European Union to scrap it.
A General Assembly committee is due to vote on Thursday on the text, which for the second year encourages the Security Council to consider referring Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
“The draft resolution is the product of political confrontation and vicious slander of the hostile forces against my country and it has nothing to do with the genuine promotion of human rights,” North Korean ambassador-at-large Ri Hung-sik told a news conference.
“We urge the European Union and Japan to immediately stop the tabling of the draft resolution and remedy their own shortcomings and reflect on their dire human rights situation before they criticise others.”
The vote at the General Assembly's committee on humanitarian issues is scheduled amid reports that UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is planning a visit to Pyongyang.
We urge the European Union and Japan to immediately stop the tabling of the draft resolution and remedy their own shortcomings
UN officials have refused to confirm the visit and Ri told reporters that while he had no information about the trip, it was “not uncommon to see false reports on the internet”.