Civil society organisations in South Korea are protesting against the proposal of the president-elect Lee Myung-Bak and his transition committee to have the National Human Rights Committee of Korea (NHRCK) under his direct control of the Presidential Office. Many organisations have addressed their opposition to Lee through statements and demonstrations.
(Bangkok) Civil society organisations in South Korea are protesting against the proposal of the president-elect Lee Myung-Bak and his transition committee to have the National Human Rights Committee of Korea (NHRCK) under the direct control of the Presidential Office. Many organisations have addressed their opposition to Lee through statements and demonstrations.
Lee Myung-Bak, elected in December 2007, and his transition committee announced on 16 January that they are considering changing the status of NHRCK, which now is an independent body. If passed in the national assembly, NHRCK will be directly under the Presidential Office. According to Lee and his transition committee, the existence of an independent human rights body violates the constitutional principle, as the body does not fall into any one of the three divisions of power (legislative, executive and judiciary).
This plan of the transition committee has raised concerns of the civil society in South Korea. People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and Korean House for international Solidarity (KHIS), both member organisations of FORUM-ASIA, issued a joint press statement on 23 January. Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea also released a statement on 31 January. These organisations say that Lee’s transition committee must stop its movement to change the status of NHRCK. If passed, they believe it will be a step backward to the days when the country had no independent body to monitor human rights situations.
Human rights activists from Sarangbang Group for Human Rights, Jinbo Net, and Minkahyup organised a “sit-all-day” protest from 22 January to 1 February. People gathered in front of Myung dong Cathedral in Seoul for nine days and held a candlelight vigil. The group held a press interview and met officials of the Grand National conservative party, of which Lee is the head, and handed over their written statements.
The Paris Principles, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, provide for independence of National Human Rights Institution (NHRIs). Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the intended placement “could also impact on public perceptions of its independence and compliance with the internationally accepted benchmarks for NHRIs, the Paris Principles”, in a letter to Lee on 17 January.
On 21 January, Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), of which FORUM-ASIA is the convener, also issued a statement highlighting that Lee’s proposal will “severely affect the independence and effectiveness of the NHRCK”. ANNI also claimed that it showed “the lack of understanding” of the role of a national human rights institution.
NHRCK was founded in 2001 after a three-year-long effort of human rights defenders to implement the recommendations adopted at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna, Austria. NHRCK acts as a human rights resource centre of South Korea for the people and the government. It also serves as a human rights mechanism to promote and protect human rights at national level. It provides space for each individual to submit complaints. Its comments on the violations of human rights in public and private sectors of the country are outputs of this distinguished body.
NHRCK has been regarded as a model for other countries, and is currently taking active role as a participant member of the Asia Pacific Forum and a Vice Chair of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC).
