Robert Park (activist)

Robert Park (born July 23, 1981) is an ordained minister,^[1][2][3] musician ^[4][5][6] and human rights activist ^[7] who went to North Korea on December 25, 2009^[8][9] to protest against genocide and crimes against humanity allegedly taking place within the country.^[10] He is a founding member of the nonpartisan Worldwide Coalition to Stop Genocide in North Korea.^[11]

Before his involvement with North Korea-related work, Park was active as a missionary in Sonora, Mexico, where he had assisted in the organization and delivery of humanitarian relief over several years.^[12][13]

As a victim of North Korean torture,^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]} Park is preparing to file a lawsuit in the U.S. Federal Court under the Torture Victims Protection Act of 1991.^[20][21]

His writings on the North Korean human rights situation have been published in the Harvard International Review, The Washington Post, Haaretz, San Jose Mercury News, Asia Times, South China Morning Post, National Post, The Diplomat, World Policy, Columbia Journal of International Affairs, The Hill, Future Korea Journal, The Korea Herald, The Korea Times and numerous other publications.^{[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]} He is a contributor to World Affairs Journal.^[33]

On December 19, 2011, Genocide Watch, an international NGO and human rights watchdog, published a report which quoted heavily from a 2011 article penned by Park for the Asia Times, entitled "North Korea and the Genocide Convention." The paper concluded North Korea was actively committing genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention.^[34][35] Park has repeatedly called for concerned persons and organizations to increase financial support towards North Korean defectors, who are able to remit money back to their families in the North, potentially making possible an organized movement to halt atrocities.^{[36][37][38][39][40]}

See also

• List of Americans detained by North Korea

References