GENEVA, - As North Korea tries to water down a key UN General Assembly resolution on North Korean crimes, famous North Korean defector Mr. Ahn Myeong Cheol will visit Geneva to meet UN officials and diplomats and will be available for interviews on Monday and Tuesday, November 17-18.
Ahn has testified to the UN Commission of Inquiry about his personal experiences relating to human rights violations in North Korea. He was a prison guard in labor camps and witnessed first-hand the regime's atrocities. The UNGA resolution is meant to endorse the CoI report.
In addition, Mr. Ahn spearheaded a request by 20 North Korean defectors to Swiss President Didier Burkhalter to freeze Swiss bank accounts held by North Korean regime figures, which received a rare response by the Swiss President. The appeal has been quoted by numerous media including CNN, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
UN Watch is a Geneva-based human rights organization founded in 1993 to monitor UN compliance with the principles of its Charter. It is accredited as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as an Associate NGO to the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).
