The NHRC presented a statement of its view to the chairman and the chief of Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee of the National Assembly (11-05-2002)
The National Human Rights Commission submitted a written opinion that urged the Korean government to ratify the statues laid by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Nov. 5.
On 1 July 2002, three months after 60 countries had come to endorse the institution, the ICC was established in order to punish those who commit such serious crimes as genocide, aggression, war crimes or other acts against humanity.
Korea had actively participated in processing initial draft of the ICC statues, and finally signed on the statues of the ICC. The NHRC had already recommended to the Ministry of Foreign Affair and Trade, the Ministry of Military and the Ministry of Justice to become a member of the ICC, and urged the Government and the National Assembly to ratify to statues on July 1st, 2002.
By ratifying this organization, any international crimes can be restrained under the rules of the ICC on the divided Korean Peninsula. Moreover, Korea can join international efforts to protect human rights, prevent brutal crimes, and improve the national image as a country for protecting human rights. If Korea joins ICC within this year, we can expect that a Korean expert will be chosen as an international judge on the ICC in 2003.
