Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from the NGO’s Collaborative Action to Put the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in its Place (NHRCK Watch) to the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC).
For more information, please contact Ms. Myoungsook, coordinator of the NHRCK Watch through email watch-nhrc@hanmail.net.
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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Urgent Appeal to the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) by the NGO’s Collaborative Action to Put the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in its Place (NHRCK Watch)
Rosalyn J. Noonan
Chairperson
International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC)
Attn. Mr. Vladlen Stefanov
Chief, National Institutions
and Regional Mechanisms Section
OHCHR/FOTCD, Motta 4.23,
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
CH-1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel. +41-22-928-9377
Fax +41-22-928-9008
Email vstefanov@ohchr.org
c.c.
Ms Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
c/o Korea Desk Officer “Ajith Sunghay” <asunghay@ohchr.org>,
Mr Kieren Fitzpatrick, Director, Asia Pacific Forum of NHRIs (APF)
<KierenFitzpatrick@asiapacificforum.net>
South Korean human rights NGOs call for special review of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK)by the ICC Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) at its May Session.
Dear Ms. Roslyn J. Noonan, 23 March 2011
We, NGO’s Collaborative Action to put the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in its place (NHRCK Watch), composed of 87 human rights NGOs in South Korea are writing to request you to present the case of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) to the Special Review of the ICC Sub-Committee on Accreditation at the upcoming session in May 2011 in accordance with ICC statute 16.5.
We are deeply concerned that the recommendations by the ICC Sub-Committee on Accreditation issued on November 17, 2008 have been ignored by the Korean Government as well as the NHRCK. Independence and credibility of the NHRCK are put into question because of the recent organizational crisis as illustrated by a series of resignations including a few Commissioners in protest against the current Chair’s arbitrary organizational management and illegitimate dismissal of a staff against the labour law and practice. Thus, we have been campaigning for the resignation of Mr. Byung-Chul HYUN, the current Chair of the NHRCK who we believed was responsible for the unfortunate situation. To our regret, it is a denial and disregard of the spirits of the Paris Principles which should be respected by all national human rights institutions.
As stated in our letters delivered to you on October 9, 2010 and November 18, 2010, we have been raising concerns regarding the NHRCK to the international human rights community including the United Nations human rights bodies and the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC). Recently, the NHRCK has been unable to properly perform its mandates as the South Korean government has been actively restricting its independence. The current Government has been nationally and internationally criticized as harmful to the NHRCK’s independence. As stated in our former letters, the Government reduced 21% of the NHRCK’s staff in April 2009, and appointed Mr. Hyun—who does not have a sufficient human rights background—as the new Chairperson of the NHRCK. Since his appointment, Mr. Hyun has been silent on human rights violations committed by the Government and has been criticized by the Commissioners due to his undemocratic management in dealing with organizational and personnel issues in the NHRCK.
To protest the current malfunctions of the NHRCK, three Commissioners including two standing Commissioners and 61 members of the special committee, advisory committee, and consultation committee resign from their posts. Fifteen former Commissioners, nineteen former staff members of the NHRCK, approximately six hundred NGO’s, and more than three hundred law professors and attorney-at-laws made a series of statement expressing their grave concerns and protest.
The NHRCK annually awards those who contribute to human rights by holding a competition for human right essays, videos, and pictures. However, winners refused to receive awards as a form of protest against Mr. Hyun. The winners were Mr. Somuttu, director of Migrant Worker Television (MWTV) who was the winner for the Chair’s Commendation of the Korean Human Rights Award), Ms. Eun-Chong Kim, a high school student who was the grand prize winner for Human Rights Essays, the Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea which won the excellence award for Human Rights Essays, Mr. Chul-kyu Sun, for ‘Sound for the Disabled’ (Jeonju Video Group) who was the grand prize winner for Human Rights Videos, and lastly, Mr. Sang-Yoon Lee, a law student who was the first Excellence Award winner for Human Rights Essays.
In spite of these strong protests against Mr. Hyun, the Lee Government and Mr. Hyun have not ceased to impair the NHRCK’s independence. Mr. Hyun refused to renew a contract of Ms. In-young Kang who is an experienced human rights investigator (Please find two files below). Ms. Kang has been working for the NHRCK for more than nine years and has played an important role in human rights investigations, particularly for women’s rights. Furthermore, one of the reasons Ms. Kang was dismissed was because she was the leader of the NHRCK’s labor union which had criticized Mr. Hyun’s arbitrary management of the NHRCK. As a result, more than 60 current staff members of the NHRCK made a statement and demonstrated against this unjust dismissal. The demonstrators have not remained anonymous though their actions may negatively affect their labor conditions. This shows that Mr. Hyun is not being supported by the staff members of the NHRCK.
In addition, two new Standing Commissioners have been appointed and have taken office: one was appointed by the President and the other was appointed by the Ruling Party. Neither one has any substantive human rights experiences. We are alarmed by the fact that the organization which one commissioner was working for made statements which are contradictory to the international human rights standards.
Unfortunately, we must state that the NHRCK has failed to secure independence required by the Paris Principles. Many human rights NGOs as well as political parties and academic institutions are deeply concerned about deteriorating level of human rights knowledge and experiences of many Commissioners over recent years. Some staff members began to raise their critical voices openly by organizing a public protest in front of the NHRCK building.
For the reasons above, we have come to the conclusion that the recommendations by the ICC Sub-Committee on Accreditation in 2008 have been seriously ignored by the Korean Government as well as the NHRCK. Therefore, we strongly urge you to bring this case to the upcoming May session of the ICC SCA for special review.
For your information, we have attached two new statements we have made in February 2011.
We do hope and believe that our small efforts will bring about positive change for the improvement of the NHRCK in terms of its independence, credibility and effectiveness.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need more information.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Yours Sincerely,
Myoungsook
The NGO’s Collaborative Action to Put the NHRCK in its Place (NHRCK-Watch)
Contact : watch-nhrc@hanmail.net (coordinator-Myoungsook)
<Annex>
NGOs’ Statement 1: National Assembly Must Stop Appointing HONG Jin-pyo as Senior Commissioner of the NHRCK: Is National Assembly trying to reform the NHRCK as the North Korean Human Rights Commission? (8 February 2011)
NGOs’ Statement 2: NHRCK Chair HYUN Byung-chul and Secretary-General SOHN Shim-gil Are Eager to Seize Full Control of the NHRCK, Firing Staff and Running Counter to NHRCK’s Own Duties (17 February 2011)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
