Thirteenth session
\nAgenda item 4
\nHuman rights situations that require the Council\u2019s attention
\nWritten statement* submitted by MINBYUN-Lawyers for a
\nDemocratic Society, a non-governmental organization in
\nspecial consultative status
\nThe Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996\/31.
\n[15 February 2010]
\n* This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting nongovernmental
\norganization(s).
\nUnited Nations A\/HRC\/13\/NGO\/68
\nGeneral Assembly Distr.: General
\n25 February 2010<\/p>\n
Situation concerning the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea Thirteenth session Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council\u2019s attention Written statement* submitted by MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2152,2151],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-submissions-to-the-un","category-minbyun-voice"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>1. MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a non-governmental organization in
\nspecial consultative status, has been seriously concerned about the ongoing challenges of
\nthe National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter the
\nNHRCK), which has been denied autonomy since the induction of the current Lee Myung-
\nPak Administration. As outlined in the written statement (A\/HRC\/10\/NGO\/82), which
\nMINBYUN submitted to the 10th session of the Human Rights Council, the NHRCK is
\nfacing a difficult situation, in which the government reduced its staff and budget, in
\naddition to appointing an inexperienced Chairman.
\n2. Pursuant to the report of the Secretary-General (A\/HRC\/10\/55) with regard to
\nNational Human Rights Commission submitted to the 10th Session of Human Rights
\nCouncil, the NHRCK has been re-accredited with status A, despite the concerns raised by
\nthe Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the International Coordinating Committee of
\nNational Institution on the report.
\n3. The abovementioned report noted that the NHRCK is considered a “central
\ngovernment institution” under the National Fiscal Act, and it encouraged the NHRCK to
\nconsider issuing public statements regarding the Candle Light Vigils. However, the Korean
\ngovernment, lacking understanding of the Paris Principles, has downsized the NHRCK’s
\nmanpower and scope since the NHRCK’s 2008 statement that “there were human rights
\nviolations due to excessive use of force by police to suppress the candle light protests”.
\nMoreover, the Korean government has continued to put pressure on the commission by
\nreducing its budget in 2008 and 2009 by far 50% and 30% each compared to ones in the
\nprevious year, respectively.
\n4. When Korean civil society rose up in opposition to the reduction of the NHRCK, the
\nMinistry of Public Administration and Security came up with a revised plan, which
\nincluded a 21% reduction of NHRCK’s staff as well as a decision regarding whether to
\nretain its regional offices after a one-year evaluation. However, the planned downsizing of
\nthe NHRCK is disproportionate and unfair, compared to the 0.02% reduction planned for
\nother entities such as the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defense respectively.
\n5. Furthermore, the workload of the NHRCK’s regional offices to deal with petitions
\nand complaints is increasing each year, indicating a need for staff reinforcement. In
\naddition, the Korean government is continually reducing the NHRCK’s budget, and one
\narea which received an especially brutal cut was that relating to its co-ordination with
\nNGOs. The Korean government pursued the downsizing of the NHRCK, despite concerns
\nexpressed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Chairpersons for the ICC
\nand APF during the process. Therefore, the downsizing can be interpreted as an expression
\nof the Korean government’s decision to disregard the NHRCK in the future.
\n6. In total, the NHRCK had put for 8 recommendations concerning legislation,
\ninstitutions, policies, and practices related to human rights during the period from 2008 to
\nSeptember 2009. However, the Korean government has yet to comply with the NHRCK’s
\nrecommendations since the current administration came to power
\n7. In addition, the Sub-Committee also noted that the process of appointing
\nCommissioners under article 5 of the founding Act of NHRCK did not provide for formal
\npublic consultation in the recruitment and scrutiny of candidate, nor for transparency in its
\nprocess. However, President Lee Myung-Bak appointed Hyun Byung-Chul as the new
\nChairman of NHRCK in 2009, despite his inexperience and lack of expertise in the field of
\nhuman rights.
\n8. In January 28 2010, the NHRCK called its 24th committee of the whole to discuss
\nthe “Yongsan incident”, which involved the death of 5 people during police suppression.
\nAlthough 7 out of 10 members approved of proposal, Chairman Hyun unilaterally
\nadjourned the meeting, suggesting that “the matter be discussed at a later date.” Considering
\nthe collegiate nature of the NHRCK, it was inappropriate to postpone a discussion that a
\nmajority of members approved. Such an act is beyond the role of a committee chairman,
\nwho is expected to administer meetings, while voting like any other member of the
\ncommittee. The NHRCK’s expression of its opinion on the right to trial of the victims of the
\nYongsan incident is what is asked of the human rights institution. Nonetheless, Chairman
\nHyun’s unilateral adjournment of the meeting was denial of the independence of the
\nNHRCK by its own chairman.
\n9. nder these circumstances, we are concerned that the NHRCK has lost its voice as a
\nnational human rights institution with independence and transparency. MINBYUN,
\ntherefore, strongly calls on the Korean government, which is one of the member state of the
\nHuman Rights Council, to:
\n\u2022 -restructure the human resources of NHRCK to include human rights experts in
\naccordance with the “NHRCK Act”
\n\u2022 -accommodate NHRCK recommendations in its policies and legislation.
\nMINBYUN also calls on the Human Rights Council to pay sincere attention to the situation
\nof NHRCK and urge the Korean government to take every action in compliance with Paris
\nPrinciple.Human Rights Council<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"