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UN Human Rights Expert: Seoul Sent Wrong Message to Pyongyang

Christy Lee

   Seoul sent the wrong message to Pyongyang by declining to co-sponsor a
   resolution that the U.N. General Assembly passed on human rights
   violations of North Korea, said a U.N. human rights expert.

   Tomas Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea,
   said, "It [sends] a message that implies that human rights, the
   importance of respecting and protecting human rights of the people in
   North Korea, is something that comes second" to Seoul's effort to build
   a relationship with Pyongyang.

   He continued, "It's not the best message to North Korea because North
   Korea might feel that [it] can always use human rights as a leverage
   for negotiations, and that's something I don't believe that can be
   done."

   The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution condemning North Korea's
   "long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread, and gross violation
   of human rights" by consensus without a vote Wednesday.

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