Page 65 - NKHR Hawaii Conference 2023

WHEREAS, the NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS HAWAI’I CONFERENCE
2023, cohosted by the Global Strategy Special Committee of the Peaceful Unif cation
Advisory Council (PUAC) and chaired by Annie M.H. Chan; the East-West Center; the
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Honolulu; and the Hawaii Chapter of
PUAC, was held in Honolulu, Hawai’i on December 4th, 2023; and

WHEREAS, for the first time in Hawai’i history, the Ambassadors representing the
North Korean human rights policies of the United States of America and the Republic
of Korea—Ambassador Julie Turner and Ambassador Shin Hwa Lee—gathered in
Honolulu to discuss and promote the advancement of human rights in North Korea; and

WHEREAS, the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(DPRK), is still one of the worst in the world and is not improving, while the government
of North Korea continues to create provocations and instability in the Korean Peninsula
and Indo-Pacif c region and threaten the national security of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the government of China’s continuing policy of forced repatriation of
North Korean refugees violates international norms, whereby repatriated North Koreans
face severe punishment and human rights violations at the hands of the North Korean
government; and

NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS HAWAII CONFERENCE 2023 65