April 08, 2021
The panel addressed the current state of North Korean human rights. The speakers provided an overview of international reactions and initiatives to address North Korean human rights through international fora as well as South Korea's stance on human rights violations in the North. The panel made the case for addressing North Korean human rights as a priority, rather than a "fringe" issue, too often outcompeted by concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles.
April 01, 2021
The North Korean regime has been classified in the Open Doors World Watch List as the worst state perpetrator of Christian persecution for the past 20 years through 2021. Only when one contemplates the ‘rivals’ for this designation, such as Somalia, Afghanistan, China, Sudan, Yemen, and Uzbekistan, among other world-class persecutors, does the full impact of Pyongyang’s systemic suppression of its Christian population begin to register. The roots of this toxic strain of religious intolerance can be found in the personality and political philosophy of North Korea’s founding father, Kim Il-sung, the current absolute leader’s grandfather. The grandson has shown himself no less vitriolic in his distrust and hatred of followers of the Nazarene. Despite overwhelming odds that could have caused its extinction, the remnant of the North Korean church has endured through over 70 years of relentless persecution. During those decades, silent external partners of goodwill have desperately sought ways to bring hope, encouragement and practical assistance to the beleaguered faithful continually under Caesar's sword. Small pinholes of light in the regime have shed just enough illumination so that those eager to help are able to assist the persecuted. In necessarily general terms, Reverend Peters will describe some of those tactics.
Please RSVP by clicking here.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email the Director of Programs and Editor at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
March 25, 2021
This event was held on the record.
The three presenters presented an overview of the North Korean refugee crisis including: refoulement to North Korea, China’s role, the applicability of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the international response. The speakers addressed the U.S. North Korean Human Rights Act, the status of North Korean refugees in the United States, and challenges faced throughout their resettlement process. In addition, the panel discussed the status of former North Koreans in South Korea, including challenges faced during their resettlement and naturalization process and the current South Korean government’s stance on escapee activists and human rights groups. Finally, the panel discussed the impact of the North Korean regime’s COVID “ultra-lockdown” on those who attempt to escape.
March 10, 2021
Ambassador Morse Tan will address accountability for the crimes against humanity and other egregious human rights violations committed by the North Korean regime. The North Korean human rights issue was sidelined during summit diplomacy with the DPRK. However, more than seven years after the UN COI report, accountability is not forgotten. Ambassador Tan, a top authority on global criminal justice and a most prolific North Korean human rights scholar, will share his thoughts on a roadmap to seeking accountability and justice in the DPRK.
The event will be open to the press and on-the-record. Please RSVP by clicking the button above or by clicking here.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email the Director of Programs and Editor at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
February 25, 2021
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"South Africa’s Apartheid and North Korea’s Songbun: Parallels in Crimes against Humanity" by Robert Collins underlines similarities between two systematically, deliberately, and thoroughly discriminatory repressive systems. This latest report by Robert Collins adds to his many contributions to understanding North Korea’s levers of power, the dominant role of the Korean Workers’ Party and the key elites, the chain of control and command responsible for crimes against humanity and other egregious human rights violations as well as the extent of the oppression brought onto all levels of North Korean society. Together with Collins’ North Korea’s "Organization and Guidance Department: The Control Tower of Human Rights Denial" (2019), "Denied from the Start: Human Rights at the Local Level in North Korea" (2018), "From Cradle to Grave: The Path of North Korean Innocents" (2017), "Pyongyang Republic: North Korea’s Capital of Human Rights Denial" (2016), and "Marked for Life: Songbun, North Korea’s Social Classification System" (2012), "South Africa’s Apartheid and North Korea’s Songbun" provides invaluable insight for decision makers, diplomats, scholars, and human rights defenders.
The event will be open to the press and on-the-record.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor, at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
January 25, 2021
This event will be held under the Chatham House Rule
RSVP
Featuring:
Daiji Yamaguchi
Director of Policy, Headquarters for the Abductions Issue, Government of Japan
Moderator:
Greg Scarlatoiu
Executive Director, HRNK
When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.
Director Daiji Yamaguchi will provide a brief overview and update on the issue of abductions of Japanese citizens and nationals of other countries by North Korea. This virtual event, conducted via Zoom, will be open to the public, including press correspondents.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor, at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
December 21, 2020
Please RSVP here.
HRNK will be featuring the latest report under a long-term project employing satellite imagery analysis and former political prisoner testimony to shed light on human suffering in North Korea's prison camps.
The event will be open to the press and on-the-record.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor, at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
December 17, 2020
Featuring
Speakers:
Stephan Haggard
Lawrence and Sallye Krause Distinguished Professor,
School of Global Policy and Strategy,
University of California, San Diego
Marcus Noland
Executive Vice President and Director of Studies,
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Member, Board of Directors, HRNK
Moderator:
Greg Scarlatoiu
Executive Director, HRNK
HRNK is pleased to feature the two authors of our report "Hunger and Human Rights" (2005). Dr. Stephan Haggard and Dr. Marcus Noland will address their work on famine and food insecurity in North Korea. They will also draw comparisons between the human security and human rights situation in North Korea under Kim Jong-il and under the current regime of Kim Jong-un.
The event will be open to the press and on-the-record.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor, at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
December 15, 2020
Please click here to RSVP: https://forms.gle/WMbwM9UP6PfY3T7z5.
Featuring:
Introductory Remarks:
The Honorable Roberta Cohen
Co-chair Emeritus, HRNK
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights,
U.S. Department of State
Speakers:
The Honorable Robert King
Former Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues,
U.S. Department of State
Member, Board of Directors, HRNK
His Excellency Jung Hoon Lee
Dean, Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Yonsei University
Former ROK Inaugural Ambassador-at-Large for North Korean Human Rights
Member, Board of Directors, HRNK
Moderator:
Greg Scarlatoiu
Executive Director, HRNK
HRNK is delighted to inaugurate our Board Speaking Series, which will feature current and former members of HRNK's Board of Directors. The three distinguished speakers will address the role of the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean human rights and the ROK Ambassador-at-Large for North Korean human rights. The Honorable Robert King and His Excellency Jung Hoon Lee held these positions until January 2017 and September 2017, respectively. The positions have not been filled since.
The event will be open to the press and on-the-record.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor, at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
November 19, 2020
HRNK is delighted to host a Zoom event featuring author David Hawk at 10:00 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, November 19. This is going to be the first of our new “Virtual HRNK Author Speaking Series.” For over two decades, David Hawk has investigated and reported on North Korea’s vast system of unlawful imprisonment. His 2003 report “Hidden Gulag” was HRNK’s first, and also the first report ever to combine witness testimony with satellite imagery analysis to scrutinize North Korea’s political prison camps. Ever since, David Hawk has authored four more reports for HRNK, on both the kwan-li-so political prison camps and the kyo-hwa-so reeducation through labor camps. During this program, he will provide an overview of his investigation over the past 20 years as well as his views on the transformation of North Korea’s prison camp system in the 21st century. The event will be moderated by HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu.
The event will be open to the press, and on-the-record.
Please click here to RSVP: https://forms.gle/SuQKk6vj6FsWnoe3A.
Please email the Director of Programs and Editor at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
September 10, 2020
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to:
The David Sneddon Case:
Not Forgotten
A Discussion with
James Sneddon
Thursday, September 10, 2020
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
This event will be on the record. Please click here to RSVP: https://forms.gle/2GNXXcQC58J5gqJFA.
Dear Friends of HRNK,
On Thursday, September 10, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT, HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu will moderate a Zoom event with James Sneddon, brother of David Sneddon. In August 2004, David Louis Sneddon, at the time a 24-year-old Brigham Young University student, disappeared in China's Yunnan Province after traveling alone through Tiger Leaping Gorge. The evidence surrounding his disappearance followed patterns identified in multiple cases of North Korean abductions.
As the older brother of David Sneddon, the only US citizen believed to be held against his will in the DPRK, James Sneddon is intimately aware and personally dedicated to the return of all DPRK abductees while helping shine a bright light on the abysmal human rights record of North Korea. He believes that only through this lens, that of the DPRK’s past and concurrent human rights abuses, will his family gain traction to find out the full truth about his brother and secure his release. James personally searched in China and, with his father Roy Sneddon and older brother Michael Sneddon, developed the original detailed executive report utilized today as the launchpad for explaining David’s disappearance.
James, having spent over 20 years working and living in Asia, has keen insight into Asian cultures, and is able to carefully leverage his Japanese language fluency and cultural adaptability to navigate the original abduction information sour
August 28, 2020
Dear Friends of HRNK,
We are delighted to inform you that we have been able to reschedule a very special event, previously postponed due to reasons outside of HRNK's control.
Please join us for a Zoom conversation titled "North Korean Human Rights: An Update in the Age of COVID-19." The event will feature The Honorable Tomás Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur for the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). The event, moderated by HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu, will be held from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 28, 2020.
Please click here to RSVP: https://forms.gle/7nPJzwn3Vux8akSP7.
The Honorable Tomás OJEA QUINTANA is a lawyer with more than 14 years of activities in the field of human rights. He has worked at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. He was also the Executive Director of the OHCHR Programme for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Bolivia.
Most recently, he has represented the Argentinean NGO “Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo” in cases concerning child abduction during the military regime.
The Honorable Ojea Quintana was Special Rapporteur for the human rights situation in Myanmar between 2008 and 2014.
The Zoom credentials will be sent to you shortly before the program.
Please email the Director of Programs and Editor at
[email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
June 19, 2020
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to:
Remembering Otto:
A Conversation with Cindy Warmbier
Friday, June 19, 2020
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Dear Friend of HRNK,
We wish to invite you to join us for a Zoom conversation with Mrs. Cindy Warmbier, mother of Otto Warmbier. HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu will moderate a virtual meeting with Mrs. Warmbier, to be held from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19th, the day we commemorate three years since the tragic passing of Otto at the hands of the Kim regime.
Otto Warmbier, a bright, handsome, and talented 22-year-old Ohio native and University of Virginia student, passed away on June 19th, 2017, from injuries suffered while detained on fabricated charges in North Korea.
The Kim regime imprisoned and killed Otto. Ever since their beloved son was taken away from them, Cindy and Fred Warmbier have relentlessly pursued truth and justice for him and for the millions of unknown North Koreans who have been similarly subjected to the brutality of the Kim regime.
As the United States and the world are struggling to cope with unprecedented challenges, we hope you can join Mrs. Warmbier and HRNK in this celebration of Otto’s life and legacy.
Please confirm your participation by emailing your RSVP directly to Rosa Park, HRNK's Director of Programs:
[email protected]. Once we receive your RSVP, we will send you Zoom credentials.
Sincerely yours,
The HRNK Team
June 17, 2020
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to:
Six Years after the UN COI Report:
A Discussion with Justice Michael Kirby
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
This event will be on the record.
HRNK Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu will moderate a conversation with The Honorable Michael Kirby, former Chief Commissioner of the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the DPRK. Justice Kirby and Executive Director Scarlatoiu will address the post-UN COI state of human rights in North Korea and measures needed to bring about improvement.
Please send your RSVP to the attention of Rosa Park, HRNK’s Director of Programs, at
[email protected]. Once we receive your RSVP, we will send you Zoom credentials.
Biography of The Honorable Michael Kirby
When he retired from the High Court of Australia on 2 February 2009, Michael Kirby was Australia’s longest serving judge.
He was first appointed in 1975 as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation & Arbitration Commission. Soon after, he became inaugural Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84). Later, he was appointed a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, then President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (1984-96) and, concurrently, President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-6). His appointment to the High Court of Australia followed in 1996 and he served thirteen years. In later years, he was Acting Chief Justice of Australia twice.
In addition to his judicial duties, Michael Kirby has served on three university governing bodies being elected Chancellor of Macqua
March 19, 2020
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), The Office of the Korea Chair at CSIS, and the George W. Bush Institute cordially invite you to:
Human Rights in North Korea: Regaining Lost Ground
featuring
Amb. Robert King
Board Member, The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
Senior Adviser, CSIS Korea Chair
Former Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issue
Dr. Victor Cha
Senior Advisor and Korea Chair, CSIS
Vice Dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs and
D.S.-Song - KF Professor of Government, Georgetown University
Fellow in Human Freedom, George W. Bush Institute
Ms. Roberta Cohen
Co-Chair Emeritus,
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
Mr. Lindsay Lloyd
Bradford M. Freeman Director of the Human Freedom Initiative,
George W. Bush Institute
Mr. Greg Scarlatoiu
Executive Director,
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
More speakers to be announced.
In the past three years, the momentum to bring human dignity to the citizens of North Korea has lost ground. In 2018, the UN Security Council failed to renew a debate on North Korean human rights abuses in its chambers for the first time since the release of the 2012 Report of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea. To galvanize momentum on human rights issues and to promote discussions of concrete and actionable policy recommendations with a focus on creating change, current and former government officials, scholars, and experts will address developments after the UN COI, explore the nexus of human rights and denuclearization, hear the stories of North Korean refugees, and present new research in the area of human rights.
This event wi
December 18, 2019
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to the rollout of its report:
Digital Trenches:
North Korea's Information Counter-Offensive
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
National Press Club Holeman Lounge
529 14th St NW,
Washington, DC 20045
AGENDA
Introductory Remarks:
The Honorable Robert King
Former U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues
Board Member, HRNK
Presenter:
Martyn Williams
Author, Digital Trenches: North Korea’s Information Counter-Offensive
Discussants:
Michael C. Anderson
Major, USMC (ret.)
Thomas Barker
Partner, Co-Chair, Healthcare Practice, Foley Hoag LLP
Board Member, HRNK
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Board Member, HRNK
Moderator:
Greg Scarlatoiu
Executive Director, HRNK
RSVP
Please join HRNK for introductory remarks by HRNK Board Member and the former U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues,
The Honorable Robert King, and a presentation by the author, Martyn Williams as well as a discussion with Michael C. Anderson, Thomas Barker, and David Maxwell.
Please contact HRNK Director of Programs and Editor Rosa Park at ro
October 18, 2019
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to:
Lost Generation:
The Health and Human Rights of North Korean Children, 1990–2018
Friday, October 18, 2019
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Cannon 122
27 Independence Ave SE
Washington, DC 20003
AGENDA
Speaker:
W. Courtland Robinson
Author, Lost Generation: The Health and Human Rights of North Korean Children, 1990–2018
Discussants:
Roberta Cohen
Co-Chair Emeritus, HRNK
Marcus Noland
Executive Vice President and Director of Studies, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Board Member, HRNK
Moderator:
Greg Scarlatoiu
Executive Director, HRNK
Featuring:
Members of Congress
Please click here to RSVP
On the 15th anniversary of the signing of the North Korean Human Rights Act into law, HRNK highlights the health and human rights status of the children of North Korea. After 61 interviews conducted in China and South Korea, HRNK's latest report, Lost Generation: The Health and Human Rights of North Korean Children, 1990–2018, applies a public health perspective that treats health as a human right that must be guaranteed to every child in North Korea without discrimination. The report also comprehensively lays out recommendations for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the P
September 18, 2019
North Korea is the world’s most repressive state — and the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) is the key apparatus in Pyongyang’s administration of tyranny. The OGD may be little known in the United States, but, according to North Korean defector Jang Jin-sung, it is “the only entity that actually matters when it comes to decision-making or policy-making” in the Kim family regime. What exactly is the OGD, how does it operate, and why do North Korea watchers, American policymakers, and human rights activists need to know about it?
Robert M. Collins lifts the veil on this ominous apparatus in the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea’s new report “Organization and Guidance Department: Control Tower of Human Rights Denial.” Please join AEI’s Nicholas Eberstadt for a panel discussion on the report and the latest research about the OGD.
Agenda
1:45 PM
Registration
2:00 PM
Welcome:
Nicholas Eberstadt, AEI
2:05 PM
Introductory remarks:
Greg Scarlatiou, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
2:15 PM
Remarks:
Robert M. Collins, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
2:35 PM
Panelists:
Robert M. Collins, Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
Markus V. Garlauskas, US Government
David Maxwell, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
Moderator:
Nicholas Eberstadt, AEI
3:30 PM
Adjournment
July 30, 2019
Please click here to view the full agenda.
July 29, 2019
On Monday, July 29, Executive Director Greg Scarlatoiu was the keynote speaker at an event organized by the Hwa Jeong Peace Foundation at the Seoul Press Center. The event was titled "North Korean Human Rights and International Society Action, attended by about 80 participants. Scarlatoiu gave a Korean language presentation about HRNK's history and current activities and provided comments on the history and current state of U.S. and South Korean policy on North Korean human rights as well as current challenges at the UN. His comment that South Korea's current policy on North Korean human rights was not clear was picked up by the Donga Daily in an article dedicated exclusively to Scarlatoiu's remarks. The Donga Daily also reported on Scarlatoiu's urging the South Korean government to resume support for North Korean human rights organization, as most of them can now only rely on US support as their only remaining lifeline. The Donga Daily article is available through the following link:
http://www.donga.com/news/article/all/20190729/96750031/1