NHRC enters its fifth year with significant achievements made and increased petitions
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Korea recently commemorated the 4th anniversary of its foundation since it set sail as an independent body on Nov. 25, 2001. The NHRC, dedicated to human rights issues including those affecting socially marginalized groups and minorities, has achieved the following over that past four years.
17,529 petitions from 2001-2005, and a 246% increase
in discriminatory act petitions from 2004
The continual increase in the number of petitions since the NHRC’s inception can be attributed to the high expectations the general public places on the Commission. As of Oct. 31, 2005, a total of 17,529 petitions were filed with the NHRC. Analyzed by year, 803 cases were filed in 2001 (from Nov. 26 to Dec. 31), 2,790 in 2002, 3,815 in 2003, 5,368 in 2004, and 4,753 in 2005.
Of the total number of cases reported up to 2005, human rights violation cases accounted for 80 percent (14,024 cases), discriminatory act cases, 10.6 percent (1,855 cases), and others, 9.4 percent (1,650 cases). In particular, discriminatory act cases increased 246 percent from 2004, as discrimination correction work was integrated into the NHRC.
Active presentation of opinions on policy, regulation,
and human rights issues
The NHRC reviews human rights regulations and policies from the perspective of human rights and accordingly, offers recommendations or presents its opinions to government bodies, thereby advancing human rights standards in society.
In 2005, the NHRC presented its opinions on (1) the abolishment of the death penalty; and (2) irregular workers (in particular, it expressed its opinion on draft bills related to the protection of temporary and short-term workers and the protection of dispatched workers, each of which was to be revised according to the rationale of protecting the human rights of laborers and eliminating discrimination against irregular workers). The Commission also presented its opinion on the practice (by teachers) of examining elementary school students' diaries; and endeavored to protect the basic rights of students by recommending they be allowed to decide their own hair length, thereby drawing attention from society to the human rights issues of students.
Establishment of human rights policies
to achieve a human rights-friendly nation
Since 2002, the NHRC has pushed ahead with its goal of establishing a long-term and comprehensive National Action Plan (NAP) to review and improve general national policies and institutions, and its final recommendations will be presented in Nov. The NAP is a blue from 2001-print of the nation’s human rights policies, and once it is established and implemented, the condition of human rights in Korea is expected to improve dramatically.
To improve and prevent discrimination in society as a whole, the Commission began, in 2003, to aggressively forge ahead with the integration of various government discrimination rectification bodies into one NHRC. The fruit of these efforts was finally realized on June 23, 2005, when the NHRC took charge of overall discrimination protection work. Currently, the Commission is trying to establish an act on prohibition of discrimination.
Protection for victims of human rights violations
perpetrated by the state
The NHRC has put forth great efforts to improve human rights violating systems and practices perpetrated by authorities, including the police, the prosecution, detention centers, and the military. In 2005, for instance, the NHRC undertook the following:
(1) Conducted a direct investigation into a case in which soldiers were forced to eat feces in an army training center. After its investigation, the Commission stipulated the prohibition of disciplinary punishment of soldiers and included a penalty provision, thus improving human rights in the military.
(2) Presented its opinion on the creation of a legal framework for cracking down on and arresting foreigners staying illegally in Korea.
(3) Recommended improvements to the Mental Health Law and its Implementation Regulation to protect the human rights of patients in mental facilities.
(4) Investigated personal information violation cases in public libraries and universities. Following its investigation, the Commission recommended setting up and implementing general guidelines to protect personal information in such facilities.
(5) Recommended granting detainees permission to engage in outside exercise and meet visitors on weekends and holidays.
Systematic elimination of discrimination practices to realize equality
The NHRC has made strenuous efforts to improve discrimination practices and eliminate social prejudices, informing the general public of its efforts as a way to foster awareness of these areas. In particular, the Commission moved forward with organizing its investigation and correction of discriminatory acts by establishing a discrimination correction committee, sector-specific discrimination committees, and the Division of Discrimination Improvement in the Discrimination Investigation Bureau from June of 2005, when discrimination case work began to be assigned only to the NHRC.
The Commission has made the following efforts to improve discrimination practices:
(1) Recommended that Commissioners of the Korea National Police Agency, the National Emergency Management Agency and the Ministry of Justice not consider height and weight measurements, or whether the candidate suffers from color blindness, in the recruitment of public officials. (In Sept. 2005, the Ministry of Justice completely abolished its limit on color blindness and informed that it will review and improve its height and weight limit.)
(2) Recommended that Seoul Metropolitan City guarantee the right of movement for persons with disabilities and others on the path along Cheonggyecheon Stream.
(3) Advised the Ministry of Finance and Economy to eliminate related provisions of the Commercial Law; and recommended that the Financial Supervisory Service improve common underwriting standards on persons with disabilities in the private insurance sector.
(4) Recommended improvements to retirement regulations for public officials according to grade and position.
Enhancement of public awareness
through human rights education and promotion
The NHRC has made it a priority to rouse the awareness of the public through human rights education and promotion. Specifically, it has (1) devised a variety of plans including the 「5-Year Basic Plan for Human Rights Education」 in the National Action Plan; (2) built a 「Cyber Human Rights Education」 system (now available) to spread information on human rights via the Web; (3) developed human rights education programs in five designated elementary schools; and (4) conducted 10 rounds of human rights education targeted at generals in the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as human rights issues in the military continue to emerge as serious social problems.
To enhance and improve human rights sensitivity in our society, the NHRC has produced such films as 「If I Were You I」 (2003), 「If I Were You II」 (2004), and 「If I Were You: Anima Vision」 (2004)—a human rights animation movie that has drawn attention both in Korea and abroad. The Commission has also published a human rights comic book entitled 「Sip-si-il-bahn」 (「Unite to help others」), with 54,000 in print as of the end of Oct. And as a first among national organizations, the NHRC launched a monthly magazine entitled 「Human Rights」; it has also produced a collection of photographs on human rights and published a fairy tale called 「Beyond Eyes.」
Table 1. Results of NHRC Recommendations and
Other Organizations’ Conditions of Acceptance
|
Category
|
No. of Rec.
|
No. of Notifications of whether to accept
|
Acceptances
(Alternative Acceptances included)
|
Non-
Acceptances
|
Acceptance
Rate
|
Under
Review
|
|
Improvements on policies and laws
|
100
|
79
|
63
|
16
|
79.7%
|
21
|
|
Remedies on human rights violations
|
322
|
246
|
242
|
4
|
98.4%
|
76
|
|
Remedies on discrimination investigations
|
115
|
87
|
74
|
13
|
85.1%
|
28
|
|
Total
|
537
|
412
|
379
|
33
|
92.0%
|
125
|
-End-
