Irene Khan
Secretary General of Amnesty International |
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Amnesty International urged Korea to grant more authority to the country's human rights watchdog and abide by its advice to better protect the rights of the people.
In a press conference at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club in central Seoul, Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty, criticized the government for its lack of attention to recommendations from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK).
"The commission is not sufficient in that it does not have the authority to enforce its recommendations or even to get government cooperation in its investigations," Khan said. "The government must support the work of NHRCK, including thorough cooperation with its investigations and thorough implementation of the recommendations issued by the commission."
The call came at a time when NHRCK has been grappling with allegedly weakened leadership in pushing ahead with human rights campaigns in the wake of the controversial appointment of Hyun Byung-chul to head the commission by President Lee Myung-bak in July. Critics cited Hyun's lack of knowledge and experience regarding human rights issues as the main reason for this.
The conference was organized on the last day of her three-day visit to Korea as head of the world's largest human rights watchdog.
During her visit, she met Korean women who were forced to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II, representatives of migrant workers, human rights activists and high-ranking state officials including Justice Minister Lee Kwi-nam.
Khan expressed her great disappointment with the fact that her delegation was unable to meet President Lee Myung-bak and Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, but did not elaborate on why this didn't take place. Her predecessor, who visited Korea in 1998, was received by then President Kim Dae-jung, who died this year.
Khan expressed skepticism about the independency of the NHRCK.
She said concerns have recently been voiced by various stakeholders about threats to the independence of the commission, which is being discussed at the United Nations level.
"We encourage the government to uphold the independence of the commission, provide it with accurate resources and strengthen its authority to investigate and implement recommendations made by the commission," said the Bangladesh-born human rights lawyer.
Based on her previous interviews here, Khan stressed human rights defenders, organizations and media outlets were facing increased restrictions in their activities.
She said, for instance, she was told that some journalists had faced harassment and possible criminal changes for just crossing an escort line drawn by police for outdoor rallies on politically sensitive issues.
"The right of speech association and assembly are protected in the Korean Constitution and under international human rights treaties to which Korea is a party," she said. "These are essential elements of a healthy democracy and need to be nurtured, instead we see worrying signs of control and restriction."
Korea was ranked 69th out of 166 countries in the latest "Press Freedom Index" released in October by the Reporters Without Borders (RWB), down 22 steps from a year ago, making it one of few Asian countries with worsening press freedom.
Khan called on the authorities to introduce appropriate mechanisms to improve and monitor alleged excessive use of police force in line with international standards.
She also called for the immediate introduction of an effective investigation mechanism to monitor alleged discrimination, exploitation and abuse of migrant workers - regardless of their legal status.
Lastly, she spoke highly of the government's suspension of the death penalty since 1997, and also asked for the full abolishment of capital punishment.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
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