UN resolution on N. Korea rights record ‘counter-productive’ – Russia

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

UN resolution on N. Korea rights record ‘counter-productive’ – Russia
'In my opinion, it is counter-productive to try to make some loud statements through confrontational resolutions at the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council,' says Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

MOSCOW, Russia (UPDATED) – Russia on Thursday, November 20, slammed as “counter-productive” a landmark UN resolution on North Korea’s rights record that lays the groundwork for putting the Stalinist regime in the dock for crimes against humanity.

 

“In my opinion, it is counter-productive to try to make some loud statements through confrontational resolutions at the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

 

“We are convinced that UN structures dedicated to human rights should not turn into judicial or prosecution bodies,” said Russia’s top diplomat, adding that such resolutions were aimed at “publicly punishing” countries instead of achieving a solution.

 

His comments came as Pyongyang threatened Thursday a fresh nuclear test in response to UN condemnation of its rights record, as new satellite imagery suggested North Korea may be firing up a facility for processing weapons-grade plutonium.

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s special envoy was on a week-long visit to Russia as the hermit state is facing huge pressure from the international community over its rights record. 

 

Russia, keen to promote itself as a negotiator capable of dealing with  so-called pariah regimes, is itself facing pressure from the West over its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

 

President Vladimir Putin received the North Korean envoy, Choe Ryong-Hae, for Kremlin talks on Tuesday, the day the United Nations adopted a landmark resolution laying the groundwork for putting the Pyongyang regime in the dock for crimes against humanity.

 

Along with China, Russia voted against the resolution on Tuesday. The non-binding measure will go to the full General Assembly for a vote next month.

 

North Korea reacted angrily to the vote and announced that it was breaking off talks on improving human rights with the European Union.

 

At the start of his talks with Lavrov, Choe, the North Korean envoy, praised his meeting with Putin, expressing hope that the two nations would strengthen ties.

 

“I had the honour of having a meeting with President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and passing him a personal message from the respected comrade Kim Jong-Un,” Choe said.

 

He said he hoped the passing of the message would strengthen personal ties between the two leaders. Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!