Tag Archives: humanitarian aid workers
Proposed Action Plan for 2007-2008
Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, NGO
Strained Relations
The crackdown on North Korean refugees by both the Chinese and North Korean governments has drastically cut the flow of North Koreans into China, reducing it to levels below those of the past decade. China’s official position is that North Korean refugees do not exist, a stance that blatantly ignores international law, including the Convention on the Status of Refugees, to which it is a signatory nation.
Report on LFNKR Activities in FY 2006
Annual Activities Report
It is now obvious that North Korean defectors are being widely recognized and accepted as a legitimate issue by the international community. According to the resolution unanimously passed by the UN General Assembly last December, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea has been urging the North Korean government to correct its serious infringement of human rights and to allow the rapporteur entry into the country to investigate human rights there.
Human Rights Activist Kim Sang Hun
Mr. Kim’s Speech:
Chairperson, Distinguished Members of the International Community of Human Rights NGOs and Activists, Respected Members of News Media, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to thank you for your interest in the human rights disaster that North Korea has created, and for the innocent victims it has created.
Chinese Border Guards Videotaped Shooting Religious Pilgrims
China Still Violating Basic Human Rights
As a citizen’s group deeply involved in human rights, Life Funds for North Korean Refugees (LFNKR) has long called for more rapid improvement of human rights in China.
At the end of September, for example, Chinese border guards were videotaped firing upon a group of Tibetan pilgrims, including nuns and juvenile priests. At least two of the pilgrims were killed, prompting growing criticism of China by the international community.
Report – What We Did in Fiscal Year 2005
Sept. 2004 to Aug. 2005
On Oct. 9, 2005, LFNKR held its annual General Meeting in Tokyo.
Kato Hiroshi addresses members at LFNKR General Meeting
Joint NGO-Lawmaker Conference on NK Refugees
Three Days in Tokyo: July 30 ~ August 1, 2005
The Conference, which drew NGOs and activists from around the world, began with two days of presentations and information on North Korean refugees, abductees and humanitarian aid workers detained in China. The conference culminated on the third day with The Second General Meeting of International Parliamentarians’ Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights (IPCNKR).
Int’l Conference on NK Refugees
The First International Planning Conference…
… for the Rescue of North Korean Refugees and Humanitarian Aid Workers hosted by the Japanese and Korean NGO Coalition was held in Tokyo on 18 and 19 July 2004. The two-day Conference, organized by three Japanese NGOs (The Society to Help Returnees to North Korea, RENK, and Life Funds for North Korean Refugees), attracted approximately 100 participants from 9 NGOs and 6 countries.
Tokyo Demonstration for Hunger Strikers
Hiroshi Kato of LFNKR addresses the Chinese embassy
A demonstration was held at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, by The society to Help Returnees to North Korea, jointly with LFNKR. This demonstration was in response to reports of a hunger strike by North Korean refugees detained in Tumen, who are protesting China’s plan to repatriate them to North Korea.
In addition, a letter addressed to President Hu Jin Tao of China was handed to embassy personnel. The letter requested the release of detained refugees to a third country, as well as the release of humanitarian aid workers still imprisoned in China.