UN Security Council adopted new guidelines aimed at speeding aid to North Korea
- 6 years ago
The UN Security Council has adopted new guidelines to speed up aid deliveries to North Korea.
The move comes as food and medicine shipments have been held up or blocked altogether.... because of intense sanctions against the regime.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
The United Nations says around ten million people in North Korea need food and other assistance,... while about 20 percent of North Korean children are stunted due to malnutrition.
While UN sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs exempt the delivery of humanitarian aid,... the UN's humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told UN members following his trip to North Korea last month,...
that one effect of sanctions has been "quite substantial delays" in the procurement, shipping and delivery of aid supplies.
In response, the Netherlands,... which chairs the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea,... announced on Monday,... that none of the 15 council members objected to new guidelines aimed at speeding up aid deliveries to the North.
The guidelines recommend that governments and NGOs submit any requests for exemptions in a letter,... containing ten specific elements.
The elements range from providing detailed descriptions and quantities of the items to be imported,... to naming all parties involved in the delivery of goods,... and showing what measures ensure the aid is "used for the intended purposes and not diverted for prohibited purposes."
The sanctions committee says it will try process the exemption requests as quickly as possible to avoid any delays.
With a population of about 25 million,... North Korea faces chronic food shortages,... as well as a dire lack of drugs and medical equipment.
Despite the ongoing sanctions on the North,... the new guidelines should bring new hope to those in need.
The guidelines will now be sent to all 193 UN member states.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
The move comes as food and medicine shipments have been held up or blocked altogether.... because of intense sanctions against the regime.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
The United Nations says around ten million people in North Korea need food and other assistance,... while about 20 percent of North Korean children are stunted due to malnutrition.
While UN sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs exempt the delivery of humanitarian aid,... the UN's humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told UN members following his trip to North Korea last month,...
that one effect of sanctions has been "quite substantial delays" in the procurement, shipping and delivery of aid supplies.
In response, the Netherlands,... which chairs the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea,... announced on Monday,... that none of the 15 council members objected to new guidelines aimed at speeding up aid deliveries to the North.
The guidelines recommend that governments and NGOs submit any requests for exemptions in a letter,... containing ten specific elements.
The elements range from providing detailed descriptions and quantities of the items to be imported,... to naming all parties involved in the delivery of goods,... and showing what measures ensure the aid is "used for the intended purposes and not diverted for prohibited purposes."
The sanctions committee says it will try process the exemption requests as quickly as possible to avoid any delays.
With a population of about 25 million,... North Korea faces chronic food shortages,... as well as a dire lack of drugs and medical equipment.
Despite the ongoing sanctions on the North,... the new guidelines should bring new hope to those in need.
The guidelines will now be sent to all 193 UN member states.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.