Throughout North Korea, there are concentration camps that hold more than 200,000 people. Crimes for which a person can be imprisoned in these camps range from being a Christian, making a negative comment about the regime, traveling to China, or failing to honor Kim Jong Il. And imprisonment is not just limited to the offender, but also to three generations of the offender's family.
The conditions of these camps are appalling. Those imprisoned undergo harsh treatment, torture, and extreme deprivation and starvation. Women are forced to have abortions if they are believed to have been impregnated by non-Korean men. Some prisoners are used for chemical and biological weapons experiments, while others are either publicly or privately executed.
Please call on the North Korean government to abolish these terrible camps today.
We, the undersigned, are aware of the concentration camps located throughout North Korea. We know that those imprisoned in these camps undergo harsh treatment, torture, and extreme deprivation and starvation. We know that some women in these camps are forced to have abortions if they are believed to have been impregnated by non-Korean men. We know that some in these camps are used for chemical and biological weapons research and testing, while others are either publicly or privately executed.
The appalling conditions of these camps are unacceptable. We call for the abolishment of these camps and their use, and we call for the immediate release of those imprisoned in them. We ask the North Korean government to end its arbitrary and brutal imprisonment of its citizens, to end its use of public and private executions, and to grant its citizens the due process of law.
An honest and fair judicial system is essential to a democratic nation. Please abolish the concentration camps and their use so that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be truly democratic. Thank you.
