Opening Statement
by H.E. Mr. Kim Sung-Hwan,
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea

The Universal Periodic Review of the Republic of Korea

Human Rights Council

May 2008, Geneva

 

Mr. President,
Madame High Commissioner,
Distinguished Representatives,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great privilege to represent the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in this important session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group of the Human Rights Council. My delegation welcomes this opportunity to engage in discussions on the human rights situation in the Republic of Korea.

The UPR is a project of great value for improving the rights of all humankind. The review process which was launched last month will present a very challenging task for the Human Rights Council and indeed the international community as a whole. However, the opportunity for peers to look into the human rights situations of all Member States represents a value-added contribution to the UN human rights mechanisms.
The cooperative and constructive approach shown by the states under review as well as all participants will enable us to have the expectation and confidence that we can discuss country specific issues in a fairer and more transparent way. My Government is determined to contribute to the full success of the mechanism.

The Republic of Korea, as a member of the Human Rights Council, reconfirms our strong commitment to promoting and protecting human rights at home and abroad. It is a pleasure for me to remind you that the Republic of Korea is sincerely fulfilling our voluntary pledges and commitments, as evidenced in the national reports, for the enhancement of human rights at the national level as well as the promotion of international human rights. It is our firm policy to fully cooperate with the UN mechanisms and to play a constructive role in achieving this noble goal. In this regard, I wish to remind all of you that last March my Government joined the countries having extended a standing invitation to all thematic Special Procedures mandate holders.  

My country has achieved democracy with rule of law, pluralism and good governance in a relatively short period of time. However, it is easily forgotten that the modern Korea started from the ruins of the Korean war, faced extreme poverty and experienced almost 40 years of authoritarian rule. Our achievements are the result of the tireless efforts. We value the lessons we have learned on the road to democracy and development and even the fierce challenges we have had to tackle. I believe our experiences deserve to be shared with other Member States.

It is our firm belief that peace and security, development and human rights are mutually reinforcing. It is not a case of one prevailing over the other. That is also strongly emphasized in the three pillars of the UN. We also believe that democracy, beyond mere electoral institutions, can be consolidated in an atmosphere of full respect for freedom, equality, rule of law and human rights. Our road to democratization represented a struggle for fundamental freedoms and human rights. It is a truth that we have learned in this process that the promotion and protection of human rights accelerate and reinvigorate the process of democratization and development.

The Republic of Korea believes in the universality, indivisibility, interrelatedness and interdependence of all human rights. Reemphasizing the importance of "human rights as universal values", the new government, inaugurated last February, approaches human rights issues in the discussions in multilateral fora, including the Human Rights Council.

Mr. President,

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea is the basic and supreme legal document achieved as the fruit of the tireless process of democratization. It enumerates the promotion and protection of a wide range of fundamental freedoms and human rights. It also declares that freedoms and rights are not neglected on the grounds that they are not enumerated. Even though the Republic of Korea does not have a Human Rights Act, a range of laws aim to realize and implement the spirit and substance of the Constitution.

The Republic of Korea is a party to the six core international human rights treaties. It represents its strong commitment to human rights standards agreed upon by the international community. In an effort to fully adapt itself to international human rights standards, the Republic of Korea is currently taking domestic procedures for ratification of the ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’. We are also considering signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture through inter-Ministerial discussions. When considering ratifying international human rights treaties, we first conduct a review to consider whether domestic laws and practices comply with treaty obligations. The process requires, in some cases, a somewhat longer period of review.
 
It is our view that the primary duty and responsibility to confirm and guarantee fundamental freedoms and human rights for all should lie with the government. In this regard, I will tell you about principal human rights institutions in Korea.

My Government established the Human Rights Bureau in the Ministry of Justice in 2006 to comprehensively pursue various human rights issues and policies through an integrated approach. The Ministry of Justice coordinates many areas of human rights policies through policy consultative channels such as the National Human Rights Policy Council.

My Government adopted the National Action Plan 2007-2011 for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights through the National Human Rights Policy Council in May 2007. This mid-term Action Plan reflects the fundamental freedoms and human rights prescribed in the Constitution as well as international human rights treaties and standards. The observations and recommendations by the UN treaty monitoring bodies were set as standards in the NAP.

The Action Plan presents the detailed roadmap to implement individual issues corresponding to civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, with an equal emphasis on each. It accords special attention to the vulnerable or minorities such as women, children and juveniles, persons with disabilities, the elderly, victims of crime, foreigners, Koreans residing in foreign countries, refugees, North Korean resettlers, persons with specific diseases and sexual minorities. The NAP 2007-2011 is the first comprehensive plan on human rights in content and is inclusive in its drafting as well as in its implementation. All stakeholders, including the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), civil society and the press can submit their opinions on the on-going NAP. The National Human Rights Policy Council reflects the changes in human rights conditions, taking into account the recommendations by the stakeholders. 

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) was launched in 2001 in full accordance with the ‘Paris Principles’. It plays a central role in monitoring human rights violations by government agencies, and in shelters, detention and correctional facilities. The Commission has been making recommendations for policies and legislation, engaging in the constructive expression of opinions on current human rights issues. In 2006, more than 6,000 complaints were reported to have been raised. There has been a recent rise in complaints of discrimination mainly due to the public’s rising awareness of the right to equality and social rights. Upon the recommendations and views of the National Human Rights Commission, the Government takes them into earnest account in its policy-making process.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), which was launched in February 2008, integrated the existing institutions, the Ombudsman of Korea, the Korean Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Administrative Appeals Commission to provide a one-stop service for addressing public complaints and filing administrative appeals. 

Now let me focus on several specific human rights issues. 

(The first is about Liberty and Security of Persons)

The UPR is devised not to duplicate but to complement the UN treaty monitoring bodies. The Republic of Korea has been the subject in the past four years to the examinations by several treaty bodies including the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture, amongst others. We appreciate the concluding observations and recommendations by the treaty bodies. We continued to project the treaty bodies’ opinions into the domestic legal system by amending relevant laws such as the Penal Procedure Code and the Criminal Administration Act. Various types of procedural measures are taken to protect the fundamental rights of detainees and crime suspects. 

(The second is about Anti-Discrimination)

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea clearly declares that nobody shall be subject to discrimination in any aspect of life and the government is well aware of the importance of preventing ungrounded discrimination whether direct or indirect. One of the recent legislative developments has been the draft of the ‘Anti-Discrimination Act’ which was submitted to the National Assembly for deliberation. My Government will continue to address discrimination based on sex, age, disease, race, disability, etc., and to provide relief measures, individually provided by various laws. The Act regarding persons with disabilities expands their rights to equality and full participation in social and economic activities such as employment, education, information and communication, cultural, artistic and sports activities and judicial and administrative activities.

(The third is about Women’s Rights)
The advancement of women’s status and improvement of their rights remain a priority. Since the Ministry of Gender Equality was created in 2001, consistent and systematic policies for women have been established.
This has been the driving force for advancing women’s status and rights. The government’s policy is mainly directed at: projecting a gender perspective into all government policies, elevating women’s representation in policy-making, developing and maximizing female human resources, improving women’s participation in economic activities through equal employment and fomenting family policy based on gender equality.

Much focus is centered on the prevention and elimination of violence against women. It is our strong view that violence against women is not a private issue but one which it is a state’s responsibility to address. My Government has taken various measures to protect women’s rights in the investigative process. It has also strengthened effective legal measures against sexual offenders and procurers, while providing one-stop services for victims of violence, including sexual exploitation.

(Now let me touch upon the issue relating to Multi-cultural Society)

Korean society is now becoming increasingly diverse. We have a long tradition of harmony and inclusiveness. We celebrate diversity, recognizing it as a source of strength. More peoples of foreign origin enter our country to live due to international marriages or to seek employment. International marriages reached 11.9 per cent (41% in rural areas) of the total number of marriages in 2006 and 1.1 million migrants, legal or illegal, are in the Republic of Korea. The Government has made efforts to build a society where their rights are fully respected and better opportunities are provided. New legislation such as the Basic Act on Treatment of Foreigners Residing in Korea strengthens the obligations of central and local governments concerning education, public relations and other measures in order to protect the human rights of foreigners and their children in Korea. The Government, through the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Policies Regarding Foreigners, will continue to devise measures to foster an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect for human rights.
The vulnerability of migrant workers requires a more human rights-centered approach. They are vulnerable due to distance from their home country and subject to a certain degree of discrimination for many reasons.
Lack of effective domestic legislation, cultural misunderstanding or forms of racism might be root causes of such discrimination. We introduced the Employment Permit System (EPS) in 2004 to give the protection of legal status to migrant workers, to prohibit discrimination, to recognize their rights of access to a system of redress and to ensure access to national health insurance. Under the EPS, Korean labor laws are applied equally to foreign workers. We will continue to monitor the operation of the system and are willing to improve it. 

The Government guarantees the right to education of the children of migrants irrespective of their residence status. The Government has pursued various programs to support the provision of good quality education to the children of multicultural families.
Questions Submitted in Advance

Now I would also like to thank Denmark, Latvia, Sweden, Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) for their questions submitted to our delegation in advance. Mr. President, with your permission, I try to answer them.

1. I address first, the question raised by Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands and the UK regarding the death penalty issue. I believe the abolition of the death penalty is a very important issue related to core human rights as well as the State’s criminal policy. This issue should be considered in terms of its criminal justice function, social circumstances, public opinion in a comprehensive way. It requires national consensus building process along with further in-depth researches. The moratorium on the use of the death penalty should also be understood as an issue closely linked to the abolition of the death penalty itself.

2. In response to a question by Denmark on the rights of migrant workers, as is the case in many countries, foreigners who are not legally permitted to stay in the Republic of Korea should be sent back to their home country. However, they can seek remedies through the Ministry of Labor or civil law suits in case of delayed payment or compensation for industrial accidents, etc. and are permitted to stay until all related procedures for remedies are taken.
3. Latvia asked us about the matter of the standing invitation to all thematic Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. I am pleased to reaffirm that we extended a standing invitation to all Special Procedures last March at the High-level Segment of the Seventh Session of the Human Rights Council. It is our firm conviction that the dialogue and cooperation with the UN human rights mechanism will contribute to broadening our horizons in the field of human rights.

4. With regard to the question on the consultations with civil society in the preparation of our national report, we made the first draft of our national report open to the public from early March through the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Any individual was invited to express his or her opinions on the report.
We sought to gather views of members of the National Assembly, professors, experts from international organizations and NGO activists through the customized E-mailing service. We reflected the opinions of some NGOs through the consultative meeting on 18 March. Some NGOs who did not participate in the consultative meeting provided the government with their views in written form, immediately prior to the submission of the report. 

5. In response to the question from the UK concerning a National Human Rights Institution, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), which was established in 2001, is an exemplary national institution accredited with "A" status by the International Coordinating Committee. The president of the Commission is serving as the vice chair of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institution. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) also welcomed the national machinery for implementing the Conventions. The status of the NHRCK as an independent body from the government remains intact under the present administration.

6. There was a question posed, also by the UK, regarding our role in sharing its experience of democratization and establishing a human rights framework with developing economies. The ROK takes a more grand approach to the expansion of universal values such as democracy and human rights rather than a direct approach to specific human rights issues. First of all, we are actively participating in the international initiatives for the spread of democracy from their first stages, based on our conviction that democracy provides more favorable conditions for human rights. The Community of Democracies, the Partnership for Democratic Governance and other democracy related initiatives are valuable fora for sharing our experience of democratization and for exploring concrete areas for cooperation. The Alliance of Civilizations initiated by Spain and supported by Turkey and the UN, has some important implications for key human rights issues.
Furthermore, we are endeavoring to expand our financial contribution to specialized funds for technical assistance in the field of human rights.

We will continue to develop ways to strengthen and give more concrete shape to our role in those fields and stand ready to forge stronger bonds of cooperation with other Member States.

7. I would also like to respond to the UK’s question on the Penal Procedure Code. The Government have conducted several times of education on the amendment to the Penal Procedure Code for law enforcement officials of the prosecutor's office so that the law can be fully implemented. Video-taping interrogation is widely used in the interrogation of suspects and witnesses. 19 thousand cases of video-taping are reported in 2007.

8. Netherlands raised the issue on domestic violence against women. The Korean Government imposes more severe punishment on habitual offenders through the revised Special Act. Furthermore, improved medical assistance program for victims is now provided by the amendment to the Act on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims. Meanwhile, in order to prevent recurrences of violence, we are conducting various special treatment programs for offenders.

We are now open to any further comments and suggestions.

Thank you, Mr. President.