A rapper. A cartoonist. An IT startup founder. A new generation of North Korean defectors are exposing the horrors of life under the Kim Jong-Un regime—and taking powerful action to rally the international community behind their cause.
On July 22-23, 2024, a group of these young defectors joined the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Unification, Human Asia, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to unveil a vision statement and call for democracy leaders worldwide to fight for the fundamental rights and freedoms of North Korean citizens.
As teenagers and young adults, these defectors made the courageous decision to leave behind family, friends, and the only world they knew. During the two-day summit in Washington, they shared heartbreaking stories of leaving North Korea. One defector read a letter to her grandparents that they will never receive, telling them how much she loves them despite the fact that she’ll never see them again. Another spoke of watching smuggled television dramas from South Korea, and her dawning realization of the many freedoms that exist in the wider world. For another defector, a smuggled video of a fellow defector detailing his new life was all it took to plant a seed of possibility in his own heart.
The defectors’ testimony shared one uniting theme: hope. Hope that a better life would be possible by leaving North Korea, and hope for the future of their homeland.
Together, this group developed and signed the “Washington Declaration for the Dignity, Hope, and Freedom of North Koreans,” a statement detailing seven directives on how North Korean defectors and the broader democratic global community can support North Koreans who are facing or recovering from the regime’s brutal oppression.
NED and its partners were honored to host these visionary young leaders, who are well-positioned to bring new ideas to strengthen the North Korean human rights movement and support democratic change in North Korea. Remarks were also offered by South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues Julie Turner, in addition to You Ji-tae, a South Korean actor who serves as the unification ministry’s ambassador for North Korean human rights. The event can be watched here.
The text of the Washington Declaration can be found below. Click here to view the signed copy of the Declaration.
Washington Declaration for the Dignity, Hope, and Freedom of North Koreans
Adopted on July 22, 2024
Dignity matters. Hope matters. Freedom matters.
As people who have recently attained freedom and believe that it is a universal human aspiration, we are a voice for the voiceless and commit to advancing the human rights of our North Korean brothers and sisters. This commitment to action enables us to mobilize and be the hope for North Korean human rights.
Having directly experienced totalitarian oppression, we firmly reject all efforts to suppress individual freedom and human rights. We strongly condemn the North Korean regime’s crimes against humanity and systematic brainwashing of its people to justify its actions.
We acknowledge and pay tribute to all those who have tirelessly worked to promote and advance North Korean human rights. Through these efforts, the world has become aware of the human rights atrocities being committed by the regime. We must sustain this movement by continuing to raise global awareness and strengthening international solidarity on North Korean human rights.
This commitment is a call to action of the following:
1. We will work in our respective professions to advance North Korean human rights.
2. We will work to ensure North Korean human rights issues are widely supported irrespective of political agendas.
3. We will build a community that will work to advance the North Korean human rights movement using innovative approaches that are sustainable and effective.
4. We will cultivate and support human rights activists within the defector community.
5. We will devise and implement various measures to empower the people of North Korea.
6. We will be the voice for North Koreans, including North Korean refugees, and through international solidarity we will continue to pressure China and North Korea.
7. We will strengthen global networks with activists around the world.
Through our actions, we hope these small ripples will lead to a tidal wave of change that brings human rights and freedoms to our brothers and sisters in North Korea. To all freedom fighters across the world, we call for continuous solidarity and action until the day our brothers and sisters in North Korea can also enjoy freedom and human rights.
To commitment, courage, hope, and action!
[The signees]
존엄, 희망, 자유를 위한 워싱턴 선언
2024년 7월 22일
존엄은 중요하다. 희망은 중요하다. 자유는 중요하다.
우리는 자유가 인간의 보편적인 열망이라는 것을 믿는다. 독재정권의 인질에서 독재정권을 비판할 수 있는 자유인으로서
탈북자에겐 북한 주민과 북한 난민의 자유와 인권 증진을 위한 소명이 있다. 이 소명이 우리의 용기가 되어 이 자리에
모였고, 이 소명이 우리를 북한 인권의 희망으로 부르고 있으며, 이 소명이 우리에게 행동을 요구하고 있다.
우리는 독재와 민주주의를 모두 경험한 사람들로서 개인의 자유와 인권을 억압하는 모든 세력을 단호히 배격한다. 북한
독재정권의 조직적인 반인륜적 모든 행위와 이를 정당화하는 지속적이고 체계적인 세뇌 교육을 강력히 규탄한다.
북한 주민과 북한 난민의 인권 증진을 위해 노력한 분들에게 경의를 표한다. 이들의 노고로 북한 주민의 자유와 인권을
유린하고 있는 주체가 북한 독재정권이라는 사실이 천하에 드러났다. 이러한 고발은 북한 인권의 대중화와 국제적 연대를
통해 지속 가능한 운동으로 발전해야 한다.
1. 각자의 전문 분야와 북한 주민과 북한 난민의 자유와 인권 증진을 접목하여 북한 인권운동을 일상에서 전개할
것이다.
2. 정치화를 통한 북한 인권의 분열이 아니라 문화 콘텐츠를 통한 북한 인권의 대중적 공감을 만들 것이다.
3. 북한 인권 활동을 다양한 방식으로 지속적이고 효과적으로 전개할 수 있는 젊고 전문성을 겸비한 공동체를
구성할 것이다.
4. 젊은 탈북자 인권 활동가 양성이 필요하며 이를 위한 재원 마련을 위해 노력할 것이다.
5. 북한 주민의 자결권 증진을 위한 다양한 방안을 고안하고 실행에 옮길 것이다.
6. 북한 주민과 북한 난민의 목소리가 되고 국제사회와 연대하여 북한과 중국을 지속적으로 압박할 것이다.
7. 자유, 인권, 민주주의를 위해 투쟁하는 국제사회의 활동가들과 연대하고 함께할 것이다.
오늘 우리의 작은 날개 짓이 북한의 우리 형제자매의 자유와 인권을 증진하는 파도가 되고 태풍이 되길, 우리가 누리고
있는 인권과 자유를 우리의 형제자매도 함께 누리는 그날을 위해 소명자들이여 세계의 양심들이여 함께 합시다.
소명을 용기로, 용기를 희망으로, 희망을 행동으로.
