HanVoice is a national organization in Canada focused on improved human rights in North Korea and Canada's engagement in the Korean Peninsula.

In 2021, HanVoice reached an agreement with the Government of Canada to allow private Canadian citizens to sponsor North Korean refugees in transit countries.[1] The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program pilot seeks to resettle five North Korean refugee families in a two-year period.[2] Among the candidates in transit countries, the program targets North Korean women and their children, who currently make up 80% of refugees and are at significant risk of violence against women.[3] "North Koreans who have managed to flee their country have very few options of settling safely without risk of immigration detention or repatriation," Executive Director, Sean Chung said. "Canada is now a safe pathway. We hope this can be the spark that opens new doors around the world for North Korean refugees."[4]

References

  1. ^ Woolf, Marie (27 October 2021). "Government says North Koreans coming to Canada under new scheme must be vetted first". The Globe and Mail.
  2. ^ "Canada launches pilot program to accept N. Korean refugees". Associated Press. 26 October 2021.
  3. ^ Keung, Nicholas (26 October 2021). "'We're giving North Koreans hope and a home.' Pilot program gives escapees from Pyongyang a pathway to". The Toronto Star.
  4. ^ Woolf, Marie (26 October 2021). "Canadian citizens will be able to sponsor fleeing North Koreans for the first time". The Globe and Mail.

External links