January 27, 2004

More than 130 nations have signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; and thereby agreed to "prevent and punish" the perpetrators of the crime of genocide irrespective of their title, status, or rank. Nonetheless the crime of genocide continues to occur around the globe without adequate mechanisms for prevention and legal redress. In 1999, Jiang Zemin, the former President of China initiated a campaign of genocide and torture in China to eradicate the wide spread belief in and practice of Falun Gong in the People's Republic of China. Jiang Zemin has co-extensively sponsored an international campaign of persecution, including direct interference in the domestic policies of democracies around the globe in conjunction with the deployment of threats, hate crime, propaganda, slander and defamation on an international scale -- all geared to eliminate the practice of Falun Gong around the world.

As part of a world wide tribute to the global recognition of human rights, and the Intergovernmental Conference on Preventing Genocide, Friends of Falun Gong Europe and the International Advocates for Justice have been joined by 17 NGO's to sponsor "Genocide in the New Era," an international conference attended by human rights attorneys and NGOs from Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Canada, Finland, Denmark, Taiwan, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and other nations to address the widespread phenomena of genocide in China and the international persecution of practitioners of Falun Gong around the globe. Conscious of our obligations as human rights attorneys and NGOs, we are committed to doing our utmost to stop the campaigns of genocide and persecution of Falun Gong around the globe. To this end, we declare:

Forum 2004 and the particular resolutions included therein. For example, we shall:

• Cooperate in the search for effective measures against genocidal dangers with all members of the family of nations, with the United Nations and other relevant global and regional organizations as well as with non-governmental organizations, labor organizations, the media and with business and academic communities.
• Cooperate in the use and development of practical tools and mechanisms to identify as early as possible and to monitor and report genocide threats to human life and society in order to prevent the recurrence of genocides and mass murders.
• Support the use and development of tools and mechanisms to identify and prevent the crime of genocide. These include the identification of the multiple forms and modalities of genocide -- including not only physical death but the eradication of commonly held belief of religious and cultural groups, education through formal and informal structures, the dissemination of knowledge to those involved in government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, humanitarian and peace support operations and the media, the support of survivors of genocide to rebuild their communities, and the insurance that the perpetrators of genocidal acts are brought to justice.

3. We agreed that the continuing persecution of some hundred million Chinese citizens by the government of the People's Republic of China for their moral beliefs is a most serious manifestation of genocide as defined in Article 2 of the 1948 Genocide Convention and is unacceptable in the world today, prejudices the development of cooperation and trust between nations and warrants further efforts by governments with a view to its termination.

Posting date: 2/6/2004
Original article date: 2/5/2004
Category: News & Media Reports

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