ISLAMABAD/UNITED NATIONS: The United States has accused China on Friday of trying to conceal North Korea’s crimes from the public by preventing the live stream of a private meeting of the UN Security Council members regarding allegations of human rights abuses by Pyongyang.
According to US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, certain council members presumably from China and Russia are all too eager to shield the government from accountability.
Russia and China contend that the 15-member Security Council, which is tasked with upholding global peace and security, should not address human rights-related matters.
They contend that such gatherings need to be restricted to other U.N. bodies, such as the U.N. General Assembly or the U.N. Human Rights Council. The meeting, which the United States and Albania co-hosted, was “not helpful in any manner,” according to Chinese envoy Xing Jisheng.
“That could exacerbate the conflict rather than lessen it, making it a reckless action. It is a waste of U.N. resources to broadcast live on U.N. WebTV, “he added.
For the United Nations to webcast these informal council meetings, all 15 members must consent, and diplomats said it was uncommon for a broadcast to be banned. Despite a move by China, the discussion on Friday was attended by the media and was still public.
According to Thomas-Greenfield, the North Korean regime’s human rights violations are “inextricably linked” to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. She said, “The search for weapons of mass destruction always precedes human rights and the needs of its people.”
“(North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un has chosen) missiles over people, and ammo above food.”
North Korea stayed away from the gathering. A request for comment was not answered by its mission to the UN.
Pyongyang denies allegations of human rights violations and attributes North Korea’s severe humanitarian situation to sanctions. Since 2006, the nation has been subject to U.N. sanctions because of its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
The west’s pretended hypocrisy fools nobody about North Korea’s human rights, Russian envoy Stepan Kuzmenkov said during the meeting. Everyone knows that the US utilizes human rights as a weapon against nations they find objectionable.
In response to North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, officials predicted that the UN Security Council would meet in full session on Monday.
