Japan Welcomes UN Resolution on Human Rights Abuses in North Korea

Japan approves of the UN General Assembly's decision to demand international probe into alleged human rights violations in North Korea. The corresponding UN resolution was adopted by 116 votes against 20.

MOSCOW, December 19 (Sputnik) — Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida welcomed the passage of the United Nations resolution calling for the International Criminal Court's investigation on the abuses of human rights in North Korea Friday.

"We highly appreciate the decision taken by the majority of votes [at the UN General Assembly]. It was a sign of the international community's concern over human rights violations in North Korea," Kishida told reporters.

On Thursday, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending that the Security Council consider submitting materials on the alleged crimes against humanity in North Korea to the International Criminal Court. The resolution was adopted by 116 votes against 20. The UN Security Council is expected to consider the resolution next week.

In November General Assembly committee on human rights passed the resolution drafted by the European Union and Japan. Russia, Belarus, China, Cuba and Syria opposed the document.

In February, the UN Commission of Inquiry published a report claiming that grave violations of human rights, including facts of mass murder and tortures, are systematic and widespread in North Korea.