September 3- The NHRCK expressed its opinion to Seoul City that its policy titled “Preventive Measure against the Illegal Use of the Names of the Homeless and Low Income Individuals” needs an overall reevaluation.
Seoul City announced a plan to initiate a policy that restricts access to main credit services such as credit loans, activation of cell phones, business registration and vehicle registration for low income individuals, which include the homeless, vagrants, and shack residents. The applicant will register himself or herself at the credit rating agencies chosen by the city on a voluntary basis. The goal of this plan is to prevent the illegal use of the names of low income individuals.
The NHRCK concluded that this policy fails to fulfill the purpose of the Anti-Overrestriction Principle, in that the applicants will not have the right to select which credit services to be exempt from, but will have the overall access to all credit services taken away.
The NHRCK added that the policy has a potential to cause social discrimination and violation of human rights as listed below.
First of all, the NHRCK saw that the policy could exacerbate the social stigma against the homeless. Despite the fact that the policy is designed to protect the underprivileged from the illegal use of their name by others, singling out a certain social group for a specific policy by an administrative organization might create discrimination that the Constitution strictly prohibits. In regards to this, the UN Human Rights Committee (ICCPR) stipulates that any classification, exclusion and restriction based on property or other social conditions that infringes upon human rights and fundamental freedom is an act of discrimination.
Secondly, the policy could infringe upon a person’s right to privacy. It includes measures that gather personnel information of the individuals and manage the information through credit rating agencies. However, the reasons derived from the legal and institutional perspectives for handling personnel information are insufficient to justify such practices. The ICCPR stipulates, “Public organizations shall require personal information only for social benefits, as approved by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Third, the policy could infringe upon human dignity and violate the right to pursue one’s happiness and self-determination on the disclosure of personal information. Seoul City requires the homeless to receive a consultation that tests self-sufficiency in order to withdraw the application and retains the right to request investigation if deemed to be necessary. However, the OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data stipulates that the right to challenge the data relating to him lies with the individual. In the case that the challenge is successful, the individual is given the right to have the data erased, rectified, completed or amended.
The NHRCK agreed that the governmental intervention to prevent the illegal use of the names of low income individuals is urgently needed. In addition, the NHRCK hopes that such a plan would comply with the Anti-Overrestriction Principle and neither discriminate against the homeless nor violate their rights.
