The U.N. General Assembly's committee on human rights voted by a large majority Thursday to pass a draft resolution denouncing severe human rights violations in North Korea.
It marked the 11th year in a row that a similar resolution on the issue had been passed by the committee. This year's draft received 112 votes in favor, matching a record also achieved in 2011, while 19 countries — including China, Russia and Cuba — voted against it and 50 abstained.
The document, pushed by Japan and the European Union, notes that there are "reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed" according to "policies established at the highest level" of the state for decades and encourages the Security Council to consider referring the country's situation to the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability.