Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) Ahn, Kyong-Whan delivered a special lecture on human rights in the theatre of the Jeju Students" Cultural Hall on May 31, which coincided with the NHRCK"s human rights counseling tour on Jeju Island. The audience of more than 200 people included principals and assistant principals of elementary schools, middle schools and high schools on the island as well as school inspectors from the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education. After the lecture, Chairperson Ahn met with representatives from civic and human rights groups on the island.
The special lecture and meeting were aimed at finding ways to improve human rights conditions on Jeju Island, in conjunction with educators and civic and human rights group leaders on the island, by formulating strategies to promote future-oriented social integration and to preempt human rights violations and discriminatory acts.
The special lecture on human rights was given under the theme of "Korean Society and Human Rights Education." In the lecture, Chairperson Ahn underlined the importance of human rights education and the role of the Commission based on the status of human rights in Korean society.
Chairperson Ahn also presided over the subsequent open meeting with civil society groups. He exchanged opinions with over 30 representatives from civic and human rights groups regarding the need to establish a cooperative system between the Commission and civic organizations as well as the most desirable direction for the Commission"s overall activities in order to improve the landscape of human rights on the island. Thirty-four activists from over 20 civil society groups on the island engaged in an energetic debate at the meeting.
Some participants in the meeting expressed hopes that the NHRCK would push for the creation of a desperately needed regional counseling center on Jeju Island. Others opined that as regards the Commission"s initiative to render support for human rights organizations, the Commission should review projects that can contribute specifically to the promotion of local human rights and the advancement of local human rights groups.
This meeting provided an opportunity to reaffirm that as compared to other regions, civil society groups on Jeju Island have a particularly high level of interest in and expectations of the Commission.
