NHRCK Chairperson meets with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-recurrence
- Exchanged views and ways for cooperation on resolving human rights issues from the past in Korean history -
The Chairperson of the National Human rights Commission of Korea met with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-recurrence(hereinafter the ‘Special Rapporteur’) Fabian Salvioli on 13 June 2022.
The Special Rapporteur is mandated to examine the progress a government has made in redressing the legacy of the serious violation on human rights and humanitarian law committed by the government. The Special Rapporteur is also mandated to provide recommendations that include policies and measures necessary to effectively resolve the issues of the past and prevent the recurrence of these issues. Special Rapporteur Salvioli visited Korea from 8 to 15 June 2022 and met with the officials from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the government and civil society organizations and visited the sights where human rights violations have taken place.
At the meetings with Special Rapporteur Salvioli, Chairperson Song pointed out that resolving the unresolved past is a process of finding out how much Korean society has progressed in terms of human rights awareness and it is also a way of further promoting human rights in Korea by preventing the recurrence of similar cases. The Special Rapporteur and the Chairperson discussed the ways to effectively remedy the victims who suffered greatly from some of the incidents in Korean history, including the issues of ‘Comfort Women’, ‘Seongam Academy’, ‘Brothers Home’ and ‘Samchong Camp’.
The Chairperson also requested that special attention be paid, in the perspective of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, to such issues as enforced disappearances during and after the Korean War and the separated families.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea will continue to cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-recurrence to resolve the issues of the past, and do its utmost to not repeat the bad examples of the history by preventing all forms of domestic human rights violation.
