November 30, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to an event entitled "Crafting Strategies for the Free & Peaceful Unification of the Korean Peninsula."
It will be held on Thursday, November 30 from 09:30 to 11:30 a.m. ET at the DACOR Bacon House (1801 F Street NW, Washington, DC).
This event will address the current status of international efforts to improve North Korea's human rights situation, as well as the connection between human rights and the denuclearization of North Korea. The full schedule of events is enclosed below.
The event will be open to the press and on the record. Light refreshments will be served.
For media inquiries, please contact Greg Scarlatoiu
November 29, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to a virtual event on North Korea's Expanding Reach: Security, Human Rights, and Global Implications.
This webinar will be held on Wednesday, November 29 at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time | 4 p.m. Central European Time.
It will bring together legislators from the European Union, as well as security and human rights experts, to explore the connections between human rights violations in North Korea, its nuclear and missile programs, and its arms exports to the Middle East, Africa, and Russia. The program agenda is enclosed below.
The RSVP form for the event is at https://forms.gle/R28ySABdPtW3CiC77.
All registered attendees will receive a Zoom access link prior to the event.
November 28, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to the rollout of its latest report, Propaganda and Agitation Department: Kim Jong-un Regime's Sword of Indoctrination by Robert Collins.
This report rollout will be held on Tuesday, November 28 at 09:30 a.m. ET at the DACOR Bacon House (1801 F Street NW, Washington, DC).
The event will begin with a keynote address by Amb. Julie Turner, the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues.
Robert Collins (HRNK Author & Senior Advisor) will then provide an overview of the report and discuss the role of the Propaganda and Agitation Department in the Kim Jong-un regime.
This will be followed by recorded remarks from Jieun Baek
October 17, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to the rollout of a satellite imagery report concerning the Punggye-ri nuclear test facility and kwan-li-so (political prison camp) no. 16.
This online event will be held on Tuesday, October 17 at 10:00 a.m. ET via Zoom.
The event will begin with a presentation by Jacob Bogle, who will discuss the findings of a satellite imagery analysis concerning the two facilities. The accompanying report will be published on HRNK's website before the event. Bogle is a U.S.-based satellite imagery analyst and writer on North Korea with 11 years of experience. He runs the widely cited AccessDPRK blog and has written for NK News, 38 North, and
October 11, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) and the Young Leader Forum of the Korean Peninsula (YLFK) cordially invite you to "North Korean Human Rights: Moving Forward - the Role of the Young Generation in South Korea and the United States."
This hybrid event will be held on Wednesday, October 11 from 09:30 to 11:30 a.m. ET at the DACOR Bacon House in Washington, D.C. (1801 F St. NW).
The event will be streamed live on Zoom. Remote participants will receive the access information before the event.
This event will bring together young professionals from the Republic of Korea and the United States to share and discuss their experiences of working in the field of North Korean human rights and unification issues, as well a
September 22, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) cordially invites you to a discussion about North Korean refugees in China, with an emphasis on the situation of women refugees and the ongoing crisis of forced repatriation.
This event will be held on Friday, September 22 at 3:30 p.m. at the DACOR Bacon House in Washington, D.C.
The event will feature testimony from two North Korean escapees. Soyeon Lee, the CEO of the New Korea Women's Union and a former North Korean military officer, will participate as a discussant.
There will also be a screening of a 15-minute introduction to Beyond Utopia, a documentary about North Korean escapees that features Ms. Lee.
Greg Scarlatoiu
September 20, 2023
The full schedule of events & speakers may be viewed at this link.
September 19, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) hosted a conversation with Lawrence Peck, who discussed the impact of North Korea's influence & subversion operations on human rights defenders. This event was held on Tuesday, September 19 at 9:30 a.m. at the DACOR Bacon House in Washington, D.C.
Lawrence Peck holds a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA and a J.D. from Loyola Law School. He serves as an advisor to the North Korea Freedom Coalition. He lived and worked in South Korea for almost six years as a consultant to major Korean business groups.
Peck is a leading authority on the pro-North Korean movement in the United States. He has researched, monitored, and exposed the views and activities of pro-North Korean groups and activists in the United States for over two dec
August 15, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) has the pleasure to invite you to a conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Salmón, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK. This event will be held on Tuesday, August 15 at 3pm at the DACOR Bacon House in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Elizabeth Salmón was appointed as the first female Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea by the Human Rights Council on 1 August in 2022. Ms. Salmón is a Professor of International Law at the Faculty of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. She is also Executive Director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of the same university (IDEHPUCP). She holds a Ph.D. in International Law from the University o
July 24, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) has the pleasure to invite you to Harmony Across Borders, a performance & lecture by Mr. Hyung-Joon Won, at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, July 24 at the DACOR Bacon House in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Won is a South Korean violinist celebrated for his musicianship and activism. In 2019, he held two historic joint concerns with the North Korean soprano Song-mi Kim at the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai and the Musikaliska in Stockholm. He serves as the Musical Director of the Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra and the Chief Representative of Soundwith.
This event will begin with a short solo performance by Mr. Won, followed by a lecture entitled "North Koreans Have the Right to Express Their Music!" Mr. Won will share his experiences of organizing the joint inter-
May 18, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), the Hoover Institution, and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) have the pleasure to invite you to a full-day conference entitled "North Korean Human Rights: Is There Still a Way Forward?" on Thursday, May 18 at NED.
As North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities, this conference will examine the human rights situation in the country and explore how human rights issues may be elevated in future bilateral & multilateral interactions with Pyongyang.
The full program agenda is enclosed below.
The welcome & opening remarks and the first session will be livestreamed online at https://www.ned.org/events/north-korean-human-rights-i
March 29, 2023
HRNK will be featuring its latest report, The Root of All Evil: Money, Rice, Crime & Law in North Korea by Joshua Stanton.
The Root of All Evil examines the record of UN and U.S. sanctions implementation against North Korea, and it "proposes a long-term, multilateral legal strategy...to find, freeze, forfeit, and deposit the proceeds of the North Korean kleptocracy into international escrow."
"By forfeiting misspent funds and disbursing them for humanitarian purposes," Stanton argues, "a coalition [of like-minded nations] can compel Kim Jong-un to make better decisions with the wealth that rightfully belongs to the North Korean people."
The report launch will be conducted virtually, via Zoom, at 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday, March 29.
Access information will be shared with confirmed participants the day prior to the event.
The even
March 19, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), the International Bar Association (IBA), and the Center for International Studies of the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) at Yonsei University have the pleasure to invite you to an event entitled Ten Years after the UN COI: Pressure Points and the Future of the North Korean Human Rights Movement.
The event, organized in cooperation with the CREDO Association and the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), will be held on Monday, March 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Korea Standard Time) in a hybrid format: virtually on Zoom and in-person at Yonsei University in Seoul. This event is centered on both the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) and
March 17, 2023
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) and the Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations have the pleasure to invite you to a side-event on “Investigating DPRK Human Rights, Ten Years after the UN COI: Satellite Imagery, Lines of Responsibility, Accountability” that will be held on Friday, 17th March 2023, 13:00-14:00 (Geneva time) in-person at Palais des Nations, Room XXII.
Ten years after the establishment of the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), this event aims to highlight the human rights infringements and crimes against humanity perpetrated at DPRK detention facilities as well as the chain of command and control responsible for those violations in order to emphasize the importance of human rights accountability in the DPRK.
The event will feature remarks and briefings by ROK Ambassador-at-Large Shin-wha Lee, HRNK Senior Satellite Imagery Analyst Joseph S. Be
March 14, 2023
The offices of MEP Michiel Hoogeveen and MEP Lukas Mandl (Chair of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula - D-KOR), together with The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) have the pleasure to invite you to a side-event on “Investigating DPRK Human Rights, Ten Years after the UN COI: Satellite Imagery, Lines of Responsibility, Accountability” that will be held on Tuesday, 14th March 2023, 13:30-15:00 in-person – at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in WEISS S2.2.
At this event we will be joined by three North Korean defectors, who will give testimonies about their time in North Korean prison camps.
PROGRAMME:
Welcoming Remarks:
MEP Michiel Hoogeveen
Part 1: “DPRK Human Rights, Ten Years after th
February 28, 2023
Dear Friends of HRNK,
We invite you to "One Decade Since the UN COI: Advocating for a Human Rights Up Front Approach," an event celebrating the tenth anniversary of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 22/13, which established, by consensus, the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Human Rights in North Korea.
This event, hosted by HRNK, will be held at the DACOR Bacon House (1801 F St. NW, Washington, D.C.) on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
This event will aim to: assess progress on North Korean human rights over the past decade; propose a "paradigm shift" that would place a "Human Rights Up Front" approach at the center of North Korea policy and interactions with North Korea, next to other critical issues; and assess the likelihood of Korean unification under a free, prosperous, democratic, capitalist Republic of Korea as the key to re
November 16, 2022
Dear Friends of HRNK,
You are kindly invited to participate in a hybrid lecture, "North Korea and its Regime," organized by the Dutch United Nations Student Association (SIB Amsterdam) and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK).
The lecture will highlight HRNK's role as a North Korean human rights advocate, the Kim regime and Juche ideology, human rights violations in North Korea, and what can be done by the general public.
This hybrid event will be held on Wednesday, 16 November 1 PM (EST) / 7 PM (CET). The physical event will be hosted by SIB in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (UvA Roeterseilandcampus, Roetersstraat 11). It will also be live-streamed on Zoom.
For further information, please contact SIB Amsterdam at
[email protected].
October 28, 2022
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI), the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, and the European Union Delegation to the UN hosted a side-event, “Investigating the DPRK Human Rights: Satellite Imagery, Lines of Responsibility, Accountability” on Friday, 28th October 2022, 1:15-2:45 PM (EST) in a hybrid format: virtually on Zoom and in-person at the premises of the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the UN.
This event highlighted the human rights infringements and crimes against humanity perpetrated at DPRK detention facilities as well as the chain of command and control responsible for those violations, in order to emphasize the importance of human rights accountability in the DPRK.
Following presentations by ROK Ambassador-at-Large Lee Shin-wha
September 26, 2022
On Monday, September 26, 2022, HRNK held a virtual launch of its latest report, North Korean Workers Officially Dispatched to China & Russia: Human Rights Denial, Chain of Command & Control by Greg Scarlatoiu, with Raymond Ha and Hyunseung Lee.
The report finds that "the working conditions at overseas worksites constitute forced, slave labor." In particular, "there are severe violations of the International Labor Organization's core Conventions and North Korea's own labor laws." The report also provides information about the situation of overseas workers in China & Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an outline of the chain of command & control that directs the official dispatch of overseas workers.
The report is available online at https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/Overseas_Workers_0926.pdf.
September 15, 2022
HRNK hosted the 18th General Meeting of the International Parliamentarians' Coalition for North Korean Refugees and Human Rights (IPCNKR) on Thursday, September 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at the DACOR Bacon House.
Greg Scarlatoiu, HRNK Executive Director, moderated the event.
Opening & Congratulatory Remarks
(9:00-9:30 a.m.)
The Hon. Ha Tae-keung, IPCNKR Chairperson & ROK National Assembly
The Hon. Damon Wilson, President & CEO, National Endowment for Democracy
The Hon. Hwang Woo-yea, IPCNKR Honorary Chairperson & former ROK Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs
Session 1: Promotion & Protection of Freedom of Opinion & Expression in N. Korea
(9:30-10:40 a.m.)
Jang Hyoek, former entrepreneur &