June 9- In light of recent violation of the right to freedom of assembly and demonstration, the NHRCK criticized the revision to the Law on Assembly and Demonstration and urged the Korean government to respect the rights of its citizens.
On June 3, Chairperson Ahn Kyong-Whan issued a statement urging the government not to violate the right to freedom of assembly and demonstration. According to Chariperson Ahn, “The government claims to protect peaceful assemblies and demonstrations and only prohibit ones that may give rise to illegal and violent actions. Yet, by presuming that certain demonstrations will become violent and cracking down on them before violence occurs, the government violates the fundamental right to freedom of assembly and demonstration.” Ahn explained that the government is obligated to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens because the protection of such rights is the very basis for the democratic country.
Commenting on the recently proposed bill revising the Law on Assembly and Demonstration, the NHRCK expressed concern that the revisions open the door to human rights violations. The NHRCK sent a written statement to the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the Public Administration and Security Committee. In the statement, the NHRCK called for the removal of six bills that might excessively regulate the freedom of assembly and demonstration.
The NHRCK stressed that the prohibition on wearing masks during protests is based on a faulty premise that those who wear masks necessarily intend to escalate protests into illegal violent actions. The NHRCK condemned this prohibition, reasoning that it will seriously damage the freedom of assembly and demonstration. Additionally, the NHRCK expressed concern that this regulation would criminalize a great number of good faith acts and observed that the regulation runs contrary to the decision of the Constitutional Court that freedom of assembly includes the freedom of attire. Referring to protests by social minorities such as homosexuals and prostitutes, the NHRCK noted that protestors might mask their faces merely in order to avoid social stigmatization regarding their minority status.
The NHRCK also commented on the proposed punishment for the manufacture or possession of tools which could be used to cause physical harm or threaten other people’s lives. The NHRCK expressed concern that the regulation would excessively criminalize lawful activity since such a prohibition has no basis in criminal law. The NHRCK further cautioned that tightened noise regulations and increased punishment for the violation of such regulations threatens to curtail the freedom of assembly and demonstration.
In order to prevent and monitor human rights violations, the NHRCK dispatched “human rights watchdog staffs” to main demonstration sites last May. Watchdog staffs are still located at demonstration hotspots.
Emphasizing the need to protect the right to assembly and demonstration, the NHRCK observed that “the freedom of assembly and demonstration is indispensable when it comes to manifesting the opinions of a citizenry and is thus essential to the protection of democracy sovereign citizens.”
