Racial Discrimination Elimination Day
At Seoul Plaza in downtown Seoul on the afternoon of March 21, 2008, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (HNRCK) held the first-ever ceremony in Korea to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
At the ceremony, Mr. Ahn Kyong-hwan, Chair of the NHRCK, delivered an address in which he said, "In South Korea, the number of foreigners registered as residents is now 1.3 % of the total population, and 11.9 % of all marriages in Korea are between Koreans and foreigners." He also emphasized the importance of the eradication of racial discrimination by saying, "There is a pressing need for an effective policy solution to the issue of social integration with migrants."
Ms. Janice Lyn Marshall, head of the Seoul bureau of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also noted that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) had pointed out in August last year that social discrimination against foreigners is rampant in the Republic of Korea. She added that the ceremony would help raise awareness of racial discrimination issues in Korea.
The ceremony was attended by Ms. Feziwe Madikizela, Charge d'Affairs of the South African Embassy in Seoul; Mr. Dam Do-gyeong, representative of Chinese residents in Korea; migrant workers, international marriage families, and representatives of refugees.
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was set by the UN in 1966 to facilitate the world's efforts to root out racial discrimination in the wake of the massacre of 69 demonstrators who had taken to the street in Sharpeville, South Africa on March 21, 1960 to oppose the so-called apartheid Pass Laws.
The Pass Laws were legislation of the Republic of South Africa that mandated only the black population to carry IDs. In resistance to the Pass Laws, a peaceful demonstration was staged, and 69 demonstrators were shot dead by police.
With the safeguarding of the human rights of migrants in multicultural society being one of its six major priorities this year, the NHRCK has been stepping up its efforts for better legislation for the human rights of migrants, and more closely monitoring of the situation.
