GENEVA, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The value of life and the dignity of the human being is universal. Yet, for decades organs have been forcibly harvested from executed prisoners and living prisoners of conscience in China. Rooted in a brutal and systematic persecution, tens of thousands of practitioners of the spiritual discipline Falun Gong continue to be the primary victims of this unseen evil.

After years of fearful silence within the international community 1,493,202 people have acted to end the secrecy and signed a global petition initiated by the NGO Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH). Released for Human Rights Day December 10^th, the petition calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to take immediate action on three requests:

1. Call upon China to immediately end the forced organ harvesting from detained Falun Gong practitioners in China.
2. Initiate further investigations that lead to the prosecution of the perpetrators involved in this crime against humanity.
3. Call upon the Chinese government to immediately end the brutal persecution of Falun Gong, which is the root cause for the forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.

Within five months—from July to November 2013—nearly 1.5 million people from more than 50 countries and regions, on four continents, signed the petition with widespread dismay and opposition to China's organ harvesting practices from living prisoners of conscience—a horrifying violation of basic rights, unprecedented in human history. The petition comes at a time when China has taken a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Yet, China fails to abide by international human rights conventions and ethical standards that all civil nations around the globe are bound to follow. By refusing to allow for international inspections China spurns extensive reports and evidence of forced organ harvesting and fails to answer the concerns of the petitioners.

With knowledge of these atrocities, if we don't act, how will we fulfill our duty to respect human dignity and basic moral values? People, governments, international organizations like the United Nations, must now call for an immediate end to forced organ harvesting from innocent prisoners of conscience in China. The 1.5 million petitioners and DAFOH wish to turn the tide of silence on these crimes against humanity and see an end of this abuse.

A DAFOH delegation of doctors, and legal experts from three continents, will hand deliver the petitions to the OHCHR on Dec 9th and discuss further actions. A press conference is scheduled at 09:30am on December 10, 2013, in Geneva.

http://www.dafoh.org/petition-to-the-united-nations/

SOURCE Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting