North Korean Human Rights and Refugees: The 5th International Conference Warsaw, Poland Feb 29-Mar 02, 2004

The 5th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees will be held on Feb 29- Mar 02 in downtown Warsaw, Poland. It will be co-hosted by the Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR). The conference is open to the public.

SEOUL (PRWEB0 January 30 2004--The 5th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees will be held on Feb 29- Mar 02 in downtown Warsaw, Poland. It will be co-hosted by the Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR). The conference is open to the public.

The opening ceremony will take place at the Sejm (Parliament) and the following sessions will convene in the international conference room of the Grand Hotel. Defectors, journalists, NGO representatives, policy makers, activists and academics will gather in Warsaw to protest the human rights tragedy in North Korea. Together, they will shine the light of human rights into the worlds darkest and most closed nation.

The conference will provide a comprehensive look at the silent holocaust ongoing in North Korea. Millions have died during a decade of famine and countless others have disappeared in North Koreas brutal prison system. Driven by hunger, hundreds of thousands have fled to China, where they live in constant fear of repatriation.

The three main areas of discussion at the conference will be: North Korean Crimes Against Humanity, the Role of International Society in the North Korean Human Rights Problem, and Planning Future Actions.

Representatives from the following organizations have confirmed their particiaption: National Endowment for Democracy, the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Defense Forum Foundation, Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, Jubilee Campaign USA, Chosun Journal, the French Committee to Help the Population in North Korea, Mansfield Foundation, House of Lords (UK) and General Secretariat of the EU Council.

The Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights is a non-partisan, non-governmental organization that has advocated for North Korean human rights since 1996. It remains one of the most comprehensive sources of testimonies from defectors, researchers and activists. In July 2003, NKHR was awarded the Democracy Award by the National Endowment for Democracy.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights was founded in 1989, after seven years of underground activities as the Helsinki Committee. Their original mission was to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Final Act in the Soviet-bloc countries, and today HFHR is one of Europes oldest and most respected human rights organizations.

Please visit our website at www.nkhumanrights.or.kr

For a registration form, please email:
friends@nkhumanrights.or.kr

For a detailed agenda of the conference, please go to:
http://www.nkhumanrights.or.kr/NKHR_new/new_pages/fifth/inter_eng_5th.html

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For more information, contact:
Alice Jean Suh,
International Campaign Team
Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights
+82-2-723-1672
nkhuman@nkhumanrights.or.kr