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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| U.N. passes resolution demanding N. Korea return abductees |
| 2009-12-20 |
| [Kyodo: Korea] A plenary session of the U.N. General Assembly on Friday passed a resolution demanding that North Korea resolve the abduction issue by immediately returning the victims to their home countries. The resolution was backed by 99 nations, including Japan, Germany and the United States. Twenty countries, such as China, Myanmar and Malaysia, voted against it with 63 abstentions. The latest action marked the fifth straight year that a resolution seeking concrete action from Pyongyang on resolving the abduction issue has been passed by the General Assembly. The move followed approval by the U.N. Third Committee, which is charged with dealing with human rights issues, on Nov. 19. Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu told reporters after the adoption of the resolution that he is pleased with the high numbers of countries throwing their weight behind the text. He said support from 99 countries at the General Assembly is ''a significant achievement.'' The Japanese ambassador blasted North Korea for failing to take action after the General Assembly adopted a similar resolution last year. ''Since last year regrettably there was no positive response from DPRK,'' he said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Takasu expressed concerns about a growing number of Non-Aligned Movement countries abstaining from voting. Among such countries were Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, India, Zambia and Qatar. The bloc of more than 120 members are increasingly opposed to handling country-specific human rights issues at U.N. headquarters in New York as many believe that the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva is the more appropriate venue to tackle these issues. In the resolution, the General Assembly reiterates a ''very serious concern at unresolved questions of international concern relating to abductions in the form of enforced disappearance'' and urges North Korea ''urgently to resolve these questions'' by ensuring ''the immediate return of abductees.'' The document expresses a ''very deep concern at the precarious humanitarian situation in the country'' partly resulting from frequent natural disasters compounded by the ''misallocation of resources away from the satisfaction of basic needs'' as well as increasing restrictions on the cultivation and trade of food items. The resolution urges Pyongyang ''to respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.'' The Japanese ambassador also explained how the Japanese mission organized a recent viewing for ambassadors to the United Nations of a documentary about Japanese abductee Megumi Yokota in efforts to drum up global support for resolving the abduction issue. The movie featured continued efforts by Megumi's parents to get her back from North Korea. She was abducted by North Korean agents in 1977 at age 13. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Silly Jeagum - only White Male Americans can be slaveowners and only blacks have ever, in the entire history of the universe, been slaves. And welcome to Rantburg. And I agree the North Korean people are simply slaves to Kimmie-boy and his cohorts. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-12-20 12:35 |
| #2 A minor rant regarding the euphemisms above: The "abductees" are SLAVES. They were caught in SLAVE RAIDS and have been ENSLAVED ever since. This is in contrast to the North Korean people, who are mostly SLAVE descendants of SLAVE parents. /rant |
| Posted by: Jeagum Turkeyneck1849 2009-12-20 12:11 |
| #1 So, for the fifth straight year the "stern note" approach has been taken. They are doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different outcome. We need to eject this nest of vermin from our shores. I do not care where they go. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2009-12-20 04:22 |