First Step

UN Panel Votes to Send N. Korea to ICC

For crimes against humanity.

A United Nations General Assembly committee has voted in favor of a draft resolution referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, as well as “targeted sanctions” for rampant human-rights abuses. The 111-19, with 55 abstentions, is a recommendation. The General Assembly does not have the power to refer the regime or its leader, Kim Jong-Un, to the ICC. The nonbinding measure will come up for a vote by the General Assembly in December. The authority to refer a country to the ICC lies only with the U.N. Security Council, a 15-member body charged with maintaining global security.