Follow up to online update from Amnesty experts on human rights in China, N and S Korea (Mon 18 November)

We are grateful to three of Amnesty’s Country Coordinators for giving us very thought-provoking briefings on the current human rights situations in China, N and S Korea:

 Clara Candat-Bazile, Amnesty UK Country Coordinator for North and South Korea (speaking about South Korea)

Clara focused on the case of disability rights campaigner Kyung Seok Park and his campaign to improve facilities for disabled people on the Seoul metro and the human rights violations he has suffered as a result. This case is one of the 2024 Write for Rights cases. For further information see p11 of the Write for Rights booklet at https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/2024-11/W4R%202024%20case%20booklet%20single%20pages.pdf

Clara has also provided (see Downloads) a further document that includes more background on the case and disability rights more generally, and a template letter that can be sent to the Mayor of Seoul.

Clara’s email is clara.candat-bazile@amnesty.org.uk

 Emily Upson, Amnesty UK Country Coordinator for China and Taiwan (speaking about China)

Emily spoke about the continuing oppression of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang province. She talked about the film “All Static and Noise” about survivors of the “reeducation camps”. See https://www.allstaticandnoise.com/)

See also and please sign the online petition calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur man who has spent 10 years in jail for peaceful advocacy at https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/china-must-end-decade-of-injustice/

For further information the 126 individual Uyghur cases Emily talked about, see https://xinjiang.amnesty.org/#cases

Emily’s email address is emily.upson@amnesty.org.uk

 Kenny Latunde-Dada, Amnesty UK Country Coordinator for North and South Korea (speaking about North Korea)

Kenny explained how the closed, secret nature of N Korea presents serious challenges for human rights activists in identifying specific human rights violations and finding out about individual cases; and reviewed the history of Amnesty’s involvement with N Korea. He does have a contact who is a N Korean escapee available to talk to local Amnesty groups – contact kenny.latunde-dada@amnesty.org.uk and see:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Road-Out-Womans-Escape/dp/000854140X  and https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DMn2_2TxiSw