The World Conference on Human Rights (1993)
refers to the World Conference on Human Rights, organized by the United Nations and held in Vienna, Austria, from June 14 to 25, 1993. The conference reviewed the UN’s human rights activities since adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and set directions for advancing human rights worldwide. Representatives from 171 countries and more than 800 NGOs participated. Five representatives of the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, including Japanese military “Comfort Women” survivor Kim Bok-dong, attended the conference. During the conference, the Korean Council joined NGOs from North Korea and the Philippines in organizing an Asian Women’s Forum on the Japanese military “Comfort Women” issue. Kim Bok-dong also participated in the Global Tribunal on Violations of Women’s Human Rights, led by women’s rights activists including Charlotte Bunch, where she testified about wartime crimes committed by the Japanese military. These efforts by the international women’s human rights movement contributed to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action explicitly addressing human rights violations and sexual violence against women in situations of armed conflict.