Korea: Raising Awareness of the Persecution to the 7th International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions

From the 14th of September to the 17th, the 7th International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions was held in Seoul. The theme of this year's conference is "Upholding Human Rights during Conflict and Countering Terrorism". The conference was the largest one to date, with representatives from human rights, international and non-governmental organisations from 2 countries. Korean Falun Gong practitioners first clarified the truth about Falun Gong to the Korean National Human Rights Commission. Practitioners visited the commission and delivered materials to each individual office, urging them to pay more attention to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Anti-torture exhibition outside the Korea National Human Rights Commission	Attendees viewing the exhibition	Sending righteous thoughts

Before the conference opened, a NGO (Non-governmental Organisations) Forum was held on the 12th and 13th of September. Representatives from more than 40 human rights organisations across the world, as well as most Korean human rights organisations, attended the forum. Before the forum started, Falun Gong practitioners distributed books and materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong by the former President of China, Jiang Zemin, and his regime to NGO representatives at a booth at the forum site. With the forum sponsor's permission, a photo exhibition of the persecution was also held during the forum.

In the afternoon of the Forum's first day (Sep 12), Falun Gong practitioners joined all four of the discussion groups and told NGO representatives from different countries of the persecution of the innocent Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Representatives from different countries viewing the exhibition

The anti-torture exhibition site	Distributing materials to NGO representatives

On the second day (Sep 13), practitioners came to the conference site in the early morning to set up a photo display. Those who didn't see the photos and hadn't obtained Falun Gong materials came to the photo exhibition during break time. They also asked a lot of detailed questions about the persecution. In the afternoon, some media came to view the exhibition, and they said that they would pay closer attention to the persecution in the future.

September the 13th was also the day for most foreign participants of the conference to enter Korea. The practitioners decided to go to the conference staff offices to distribute materials. Falun Gong practitioners put open letters, stories of Chinese practitioners who can't go back to China and Video-CDs into hand-made flower baskets, and delivered the baskets to every room. Hopefully, they will develop a positive understanding of Falun Dafa and learn more about the persecution after reading the materials.

The International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions opened on the 14th of September. A lot of conference attendees commuted between the conference site (Lotte Hotel) and the Korea National Human Rights Commission. The practitioners held a photo exhibition there. Many people expressed their concern after they viewed torture photos and articles about how practitioners' human rights have been violated in China.

Some practitioners also obtained conference passes and went into the conference site to expose the persecution. Practitioners told the delegates about the seriousness of the human rights violations and urged them to pay closer attention to the persecution. Meanwhile, practitioners also asked them to include the persecution of Falun Gong as part of their formal discussions.

In the afternoon, after the conference activities adjourned, the non-Korean members visited the Korean National Human Rights Commission. On the way to and fro, the human rights activists were able to see the anti-torture exhibition. Some of them accepted interviews and expressed their view on China's human rights.

During this international conference, from the NGO forum before the conference, to the conference and outdoor activities, the practitioners coordinated well to introduce Falun Gong and the persecution of those who practise it to representatives of human rights organisations from all over the world. The result of their efforts was quite good.