UN votes against North Korea on human rights

Baku. 19 November. REPORT.AZ/ A United Nations General Assembly committee Tuesday voted in favor of a draft resolution referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity as well as "targeted sanctions" for rampant human rights abuses.

The 111-19, with 55 abstentions, is merely a recommendation. The General Assembly does not have the power to refer the regime or its leader Kim Jong Un to the ICC.

The non-binding measure will come up for a vote by the General Assembly in December, informs Report citing CNN,

The authority to refer a country to the ICC lies only with the U.N. Security Council, a 15-member body charged with maintaining global security.

The five permanent members at the core of the Security Council, including China and Russia, wield veto powers.

Opponents of the resolution -- including China, Russia and Cuba -- said the measure was politically manipulated and would set a precedent for other nations to be targeted in the future.

A North Korea representative told the U.N. gathering Tuesday that the resolution "provoked confrontation" and "failed to reflect the reality on the ground."

China is likely to use its veto as its officials have repeatedly said efforts to send North Korea's leadership to the ICC "won't help improve a country's human rights condition." North Korea's longtime ally has never wavered in its support for Pyongyang.

North Korea's leaders have been accused of employing murder, torture, slavery, sexual violence and mass starvation to prop up the isolated regime and exercise total control over its citizens.

North Korea has repeatedly denied the existence of political camps or human rights abuses in the country.