By Hye Gi Shim
When a devastating famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s, hundreds of
thousands of North Koreans were forced to leave their homes and cross the
border into China.
This marked the beginning of a swelling North Korean refugee crisis. Today the Ministry of Unification estimates
that the total number of North Koreans in South Korea is reaching 17,000. As
the problem has grown, the response of South Korean civil society has also
evolved.
An Asia Catalyst submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right of Everyone to the Enjoyment of the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health in advance of the Beijing Olympics.
[:en]The sun is setting over the palm trees, and we’re finishing up a wonderful, exhilirating and intense week in Bali for the International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP-9). For the first time, Asia Catalyst supported a delegation of 9 Chinese AIDS activists, provided translation throughout, and hosted events that brought Chinese and other Asian activists together at meetings, at workshops, and at a beach barbecue party under the stars (do you hate us yet?).
UNAIDS must speak out against government restrictions on AIDS NGOs in Asia, Asia Catalyst said today at the International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP). Physicians for Human Rights and over 30 international AIDS groups joined in calling on UNAIDS to take a stronger stand on the rights of front line AIDS organizations.
Read more: English press release (pdf)
By Carol Wang
One of the programs we get the most satisfaction from is our summer Haven Project, which places Chinese AIDS advocates in more established AIDS NGOs for a few weeks to a few months. This program builds connections between AIDS activists across borders, while helping Chinese partners – who represent the first generation of civil society leaders in China – to build their skills. This weekend, the first of five Chinese colleagues will make their way to Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
