North Korea, which has often been criticized by the United Nations for recurring human rights abuses, condemned Australia at a UN meeting for committing human rights violations, UN Watch said Tuesday. The group is a Geneva-based organization that follows UN activities.

“The deep-rooted racial discrimination and xenophobia rampant in the Australian public sector must come to an end,” North Korea’s UN ambassador said at a United Nations Human Rights Council session Jan. 20.

He said Australia should stop treating detainees inhumanely and humiliating them, adding that people with disabilities should see their rights fully recognized by the Australian government, including the right to vote. The ambassador did not elaborate.

Pyongyang, which rarely speaks about the human rights issues of other countries, is seen as siding with China, its biggest ally, against Australia. Beijing and Canberra have exchanged tit-for-tat diplomatic reprisals since Australia called for an inquiry into the source of the coronavirus, which emerged in China.

The communist North did not address the other countries at the table for discussions, including Lebanon, Nepal, Georgia and Austria.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)