Seventy-ninth Session,
54th & 55th Meetings (AM & PM)
GA/SHC/4432
20 November 2024
© UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved five draft resolutions addressing the human rights situations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Syria and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and forwarded them to the General Assembly for adoption.
All texts sparked controversy. The draft, “Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” (document A/C.3/79/L.34), approved without a vote, would have the Assembly condemn in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in and by that country, including offenses that may amount to crimes against humanity. The Assembly would also express very serious concern about persistent reports of torture, enforced or involuntary disappearances, and the forcible transfer of populations.
Introducing the draft, the representative of Hungary, speaking on behalf of the European Union, noted that the annual draft has been approved for the past 20 years, and highlighted updates to the text, including links between the human rights situation in the country and the peace and security landscape.
The speaker for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea rejected the draft as a “political plot,” stating that this “anti-DPRK draft resolution on human rights, tabled by the European Union every year at the instigation of the United States, is a false paper”. Washington, D.C. has overthrown Governments and “systems of their dislike” since the cold war to increase their influence in the world, he said, adding that the text’s main sponsors are the worst human rights violators in history, calling on the international community to cease using the United Nations to interfere with States’ internal affairs.
Several delegates disassociated from the draft, echoing concerns over States’ sovereignty. The politicized nature of country-specific resolutions and mechanisms run counter to the principles of non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity enshrined in the UN Charter, many noted. One delegate observed that such resolutions are only imposed on developing countries, often leading to unilateral coercive measures — which fuel conflict between States. Another said that the resolution aims to “rubber stamp Western false narratives on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with the UN seal of approval”.
Meanwhile, many speakers voiced alarm over the worsening human rights situation in the country, spotlighting the practices of forced abortions and the punishment of children for simply “watching South Korean dramas”. Some condemned Pyongyang’s deployment of troops and transfer of missiles to aid in the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine and use of forced labour to fuel weapons development, with a delegate urging the “oppressive regime” to “focus its resources on the critical needs of its own people who continue to suffer” and to cease its support for Moscow’s war crimes in Ukraine.
The Committee approved by consensus the draft resolution, “Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar” (document A/C.3/79/L.46/Rev.1), which would have the Assembly demand an immediate end to hostilities, and all forms of violence and attacks against civilians — including Rohingya Muslims — in compliance with Security Council resolution 2669 (2022). By the text, the Assembly would decide to hold a high-level conference in 2025 on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.
This annual resolution was first introduced six years ago in response to the atrocities against the Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar.
A delegate said that the situation has since dramatically deteriorated, owing to the Myanmar military’s unjustified, illegal and unconstitutional coup against the democratically elected Government on February 1, 2021, and the repression that has followed. Many agreed and said the international community cannot stand by and watch as the atrocities continue.
Yet the representative of Myanmar said his delegation deeply regrets that “the draft resolution fails to include, among others, stronger language on the cessation of transfer of arms and jet fuel to the military junta”. Noting that such language was included in Human Rights Council resolution 55/20, he said, “lack of coherence within the UN system can be observed”. The situation on the ground is “far more dire than we could see and expect,” he stressed, referring to aerial bombings on civilian populations, the torching of villages, forced conscriptions, daily atrocities and transnational organized crimes, “fuelled by the military junta in the complete absence of the rule of law”. His delegation was also troubled that it was not consulted extensively during the negotiation process and now questions whether Member States are abandoning innocent civilians and supporting the vicious motives of the perpetrating military junta in Myanmar.
The draft resolution, “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran” (document A/C.3/79/L.41), approved by a recorded vote of 77 in favour to 28 against, with 66 abstentions, would have the Assembly condemn the alarming increase in the application of the death penalty by Iran, in violation of its international obligations, including on the basis of forced confessions, and without fair trial and due process. The 193-member organ would also express concern over Iran’s continued imposition of the death penalty against minors and urge the country to cease the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary arrests and detention.
“The respect for human rights has deteriorated in Iran,” including through the increasing application of the death penalty for other than most serious crimes, said Canada’s delegate who introduced the draft. In “blatant disregard for human life,” Tehran uses the death penalty against people exercising their right to freedom of expression, opinion and peaceful assembly. Moreover, ethnic minorities and women are increasingly being handed down the death penalty, he cautioned, asserting: “This can no longer continue”. Amid systemic impunity in Iran, this draft reaffirms the UN human rights mechanism's integral role in improving that country’s human rights record.
Iran’s representative rejected “the unjust and politically motivated resolution,” citing its selective, biased and hypocritical nature. She pointed to Canada’s human rights record, including “the slaughter of innocent Iranian children and women” and said its genocide, committed against Indigenous children, is staggering hypocrisy.
Many delegates echoed the draft’s concern over the dire human rights situation in Iran and highlighted the use of harassment and intimidation to silence human rights defenders who call out Tehran’s violations. Accordingly, they called on Tehran to grant access to the Special Rapporteur and the Fact-Finding Mission to provide transparency and facilitate accountability.
However, others rejected double standards, voicing their growing concern over the proliferation of mechanisms and procedures that “claim to exercise supposedly impartial judgments” over the situations in concerned countries. Such arrangements should neither be politicized nor be selective, but rather remain impartial, transparent and objective.
The draft titled “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol” (document A/C.3/79/L.44) was approved by a vote of 78 in favour, 16 against, with 78 abstentions.
By its terms, the Assembly would condemn the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine and the use of temporarily occupied Crimea for that purpose, and support the attempted illegal annexation of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, demanding that the Russian Federation immediately cease its war and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters.
Introducing the draft, the representative of Ukraine noted that it has been 1,000 days since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of his country, but their aggression against Ukraine has endured for over a decade. Voicing alarm that zones under Russian Federation occupation have been turned into “zones of lawlessness,” rife with well-documented human rights violations, including the summary executions and torture, he said that the draft empowers the UN to document abuses in the occupied areas, providing a crucial mechanism for accountability.
Meanwhile the speaker for the Russian Federation said that every year, the draft “multiplies the fallacious accusations against my country,” stressing that the people in Crimea exercised their right to determination and now “enjoy the protection of the Russian constitution and legal system”. The draft has nothing to do with human rights, she said.
Several countries rejected the draft, citing the selective nature of country-specific texts, while others supported Ukraine’s calls, with one speaker emphasizing country-specific resolutions “complement the work of the Human Rights Council.”
The Committee also approved a draft resolution, “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic” (document A/C.3/79/L.45) by a recorded vote of 85 in favour to 17 against, with 71 abstentions.
By its terms, the Assembly would strongly condemn the systematic, widespread and gross violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed in Syria, and the indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against the civilian population and infrastructure. In particular, it would strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons in the country. Further, it would urge States to create conditions for continued negotiations for a political solution to the Syrian conflict — under the auspices of the United Nations — recalling the importance of advancing the work of the Constitutional Committee.
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