Anti-North Korea human rights groups and civic and social organizations in South Korea have kicked off North Korean Human Rights Awareness Week.

The event, which started Monday, also marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Events through Sunday include seminars, photo exhibitions, documentary screenings and appointment of goodwill ambassadors.

Twenty-six human rights and civic groups are participating, including the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights, the Family Union of Korean POWs Detained in North Korea and a North Korean defectors' association.