MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The council’s 31st session began on February 29 and will end on March 24.
25 February 2016, 22:42 GMT
According to South Korean Yonhap news agency, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong claimed that the meeting was politically contaminated and its members were biased. The West only makes an issue of human rights in the country because of Pyongyang’s military and nuclear deterrent, according to the minister.
Ri pointed at issues such as the European refugee crisis, mass shootings in the United States and Japan killing people during World War II.
Last November, the UN General Assembly's third committee passed a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights record and urged a referral of the country to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un denied the accusations, saying that the committee's decision was backed by the United States and other countries aiming to overthrow the North Korean leadership.
