North Korea rejects EU draft UN rights resolution

North Korea criticised the European Union over a draft UN resolution addressing human rights in the country, state media reported Thursday.

North Korea’s UN mission said the EU had again submitted a draft resolution “distorting” the country’s human rights policy and situation, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The mission called the move a “farce” and a “politically-motivated provocation”. It said the EU should “mind its own business” instead of raising what it called non-existent human rights issues.

The resolution is expected to be adopted by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee later this month before going to the full assembly for final approval.

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights violations every year since 2005. Pyongyang has long been accused by the United Nations and other critics of widespread rights abuses, including prison camps and severe restrictions on freedom of expression and access to information.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said last year that human rights in North Korea had shown no improvement over the past decade and had worsened in many cases.