On the 16th, an ICNK member organization, HRNK Canada, held a North Korean human rights forum entitled “Brutality beyond Belief” in Toronto, Canada.
38 people participated in the forum including Open Doors International’s Paul Estabrooks; Canadian Member of Parliament, Berry Devolin; Amnesty International; and representatives from the Czech, Chinese and Tibetan communities in Canada.
Paul Estabrooks presented on the 2013 World Watch List. He said that North Korea is the only country amongst the world's nations ranked as being guilty of absolute persecution of Christians. He also added that North Korea has been ranked as the most serious persecutor of Christians for 11 years in a row. HRNK Canada’s director in Ottawa read the ICNK NGO Letter, and the president of HRNK Canada, Lee Kyoung Bok, read their own letter at the forum.
In HRNK Canada’s Letter, they explained the justification for and urgency of the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry. They urged the UN General Assembly to lead this issue through to a resolution. Also, they called for Canada to appoint one day as a ‘North Korean Human Rights Day’ since Canada designated 2013 as ‘Year of Korea.'
The ICNK NGO Letter and HRNK Canada’s Letter were delivered to the Canadian Foreign Minister through Berry Devolin.
