Left to right: Dr. David Hawk, Author of Hidden Gulags: North Korea’s Prison Camps and Thank You, Father Kim Il Sung: Eyewitness Accounts of Severe Violations of Thought, Conscience and Religion in North Korea; Bishop Ricardo Ramirez; Dr. Kim Hyunuk.

12 July 2006

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom visits Rome, July 12, 2006

Members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) were in Rome in July to attend a conference dedicated to discussion of religious freedom in North Korea.  The conference was sponsored by Freedom House, a research institute known for its annual reports on the degree of democratic freedoms in countries around the globe.

Representatives of the USCIRF delegation also met with Vatican diplomatic officials to discuss the status of human rights and religious freedom in North Korea. 

USCIRF Commissioner Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, New Mexico, stated that while the world is concerned about North Korea’s capacity to develop and test missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, it must not overlook the extent to which North Koreans are denied their basic human rights. “We want the whole story to be known so that there could be diplomatic pressure on behalf of so many people who are suffering so much under a very oppressive government,” he said.

Kim Hyunuk, a South Korean Catholic and President of The Peace Forum for Foreign Policy and National Security, stated that “No form of religious practice of any faith is permitted in North Korea.  [It] is probably the only country in the world that condemns people to death for believing in religion.”

The delegation also included three individuals who escaped from North Korea.