Hmong Human Rights Forum 2009
HMONG HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM 2009
Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009
Time: 11:30am – 5:30pm
Location: (UW-Madison) The Pyle Center
Street: 702 Langdon St
City/Town: South Madison, WI
Recently appointed Director of Operations for Radion International USA, Bruce Thao will be speaking at the Hmong Human Rights (HHR) event which will be held at the Pyle Center on Saturday, December 5th, 2009.
In his address, he will be sharing the humanitarian relief work for the Hmong-Thai and Hmong-Lao refugees during his 3 month internship in the largest Hmong village in Thailand, Khek Noi.
If you are traveling to the city of Wisconsin this December, don’t miss this event!
The event is FREE and open to the public!
Hmong Human Rights mission is to raise awareness and educate the community on the Hmong humanitarian crisis in Thailand and Laos. There is a lack of knowledge of the situation overseas. The themes we seek to address include: human rights violations, persecution, Hmong history, current situations, and activism.
The purpose of the event is:
• To facilitate discussion among UW students and staff on how to approach the Hmong humanitarian crisis in Laos and Thailand
• To promote a better understanding of the intersecting reasons for Hmong involvement in the Vietnam War and the current Hmong human right violations
• To further understanding among UW students and faculty member of the Hmong humanitarian crisis in Laos and Thailand
• To start a coalition among social activists and Hmong human rights advocates
The event will bring various Hmong human rights activists to discuss the significance of Hmong human rights and how it affects the community in the United States and worldwide. Furthermore, it will address how students and faculty can be active in ending the ongoing Hmong humanitarian crisis in the Laos and Thailand.
The event will be held at the Pyle Center on Saturday, December 5th, 2009. It will take place from 11:00AM to 5:30PM. The event will host seven different speakers. The speaker forum is composed of three sessions; for each session, there are two different panels going on simultaneously. At the end of the third sessions, there will be a keynote speaker: Amnesty International’s Asia Advocacy Director, T Kumar.
Schedule
11:30 – 12:15 PM Registration
12:15 – 12:30 PM Opening
12:30 – 1:30 PM Session I (Workshops AB)
1:40 – 2:40 PM Session II (Workshops CD)
2:40 – 3:10 PM BREAK
3:10 – 4:10 PM Session III (Workshops EF)
4:20 – 5:20 PM Session IV (Keynote Speaker)
5:20 – 5:30 Closing Remarks
Keynote Speaker:
T Kumar is the Advocacy Director for International Issues of Amnesty International USA. As a representative of Amnesty International, he has spoken against the human rights violations of the Hmong. Amnesty International has continually condemned the international humanitarian law violations by the Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic.
Dr. Jane Hamilton-Merritt is a historian, author, journalist and Hmong human rights activist. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 and in 2000 for her work on Hmong human rights. Dr. Hamilton-Merritt documents the Hmong people and their involvement with the Vietnam War in her acclaimed book, Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans and The Secret Wars for Laos 1942-1992.
http://www.tragicmountains.org/
Vaughn Vang is the Executive Director of the Lao Hmong Human Rights Council, Inc. The LHHRC provides documents and evidence of the human rights violations that occur in the jungles of Laos and in Thailand.
http://www.laohumanrightscouncil.org/
Kay Danes is an Australian humanitarian and an author. She writes about being detained in a Lao prison without any charges. Her books include Standing Ground (2009) and Nightmare in Laos: The True Story of a Woman Imprisoned in a Communist Gulag (2006).
Joe Davy is a Hmong advocate. He was the co-founder of the Hmong International Human Rights Watch in 1997. He has repeatedly spoken against the treatment of the 158 Hmong refugees in Nong Khai.
http://www.hmongihrw.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=146&Itemid=34
Facebook group: USA Stop the Torture of Hmong Refugees in Thailand
Bruce Thao is the Director of Operations for Radion International USA. Radion International USA is a non-governmental organization that serves the largest Hmong village in Thailand, Khek Noi. The organization runs many projects ranging from community development projects for the poor, empowering victims of domestic violence, a shelter for Hmong children, and humanitarian relief for Hmong-Thai and Hmong-Lao refugees.
http://www.radion-international.org/
James Chang is the founder of the Hmong Human Rights committee at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Chang has facilitated human rights workshops in the past. He is currently working with the Minnesota State Senate.
