Han Tae Song, Permanent Representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland delivered a statement at the 48th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on September 14.
At the General Debate on Item 2 “Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Reports of the OHCHR and the Secretary-General”, the Permanent Representative clarified his views on the issues of politicization, selectivity and double standards of human rights that hinder international cooperation in the field of human rights.
He pointed out that country reports submitted before the Council deviate from the principle of objectivity and non-bias, lacking correct reflection of the real situation of countries concerned by citing unverified and groundless information. He also said that it is an extreme manifestation that certain countries often find fault with and criminalized human rights situation of sovereign States including the DPRK based on false and fabricated information for the despicable political purposes.
He also noted that OHCHR has raised questions unreasonably about Venezuela, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka and others’ human rights issues and declared that the DPRK opposes and rejects attempts by certain countries to use Xinjiang and Hong Kong related issues to interfere in China’s internal affairs.
He stressed as follows:
Human rights issues should not be abused for political purposes and the HRC and OHCHR should abide by the principles of respect for national sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs of states enshrined in the UN Charter as well as universality, impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity, constructive dialogue and cooperation specified in resolution 60/251, and should be addressed with in a way that promotes international cooperation and constructive dialogue on a fair and equal basis, taking into account the political, historical, social, religious and cultural particularities of each country.
UN arena have been consistently abused as a forum of targeting, naming and shaming the countries that do not accept the so-called model of the western “governance” and if such practices are allowed to go on, the genuine cooperation in the field of human rights will vanish, which, in turn, will result in the reducing of the UN arena into a theatre of political frauds and confrontation.
Recently, atrocities against humanity such as racial discrimination, torture, human trafficking and forced slavery labour systematically committed in the United States and western countries have been revealed shocking the whole world, however, the issue was never in the UN. That is because the European countries who habitually admonishes and meddles in the human rights issue of individual country remained silent and such practices that hamper the international efforts to protect and promote human rights should no longer be tolerated.
Permanent Representative underscored the need for the Council to put an end to the practice of selectivity and double standard deeply rooted in the field of human rights and to pay due attention in maintaining and consolidating the UPR that considers the human rights situation of all UN member countries in equal manner based on cooperation and constructive dialogue, and in addressing all human rights issues equally including economic, social and cultural rights and right to development preventing its partial treatment.
