By Lee Kyung-min
The human rights watchdog urged the government, Wednesday, to guarantee disabled foreigners staying here with refugee status the same social benefits as locals.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it submitted a recommendation to Health and Welfare Minister Chung Chin-youb, calling for an amendment to related laws to recognize such a universal right and come up with additional measures.
The recommendation followed a media report last year in which a child suffering from a brain injury was denied a state subsidy usually granted to such a patient, after the ministry rejected the request to register the child “disabled” citing refugee status.
The child, whose identity is being withheld, could not attend elementary school and was denied monthly financial support, the NHRC said.
Following the report, the human rights watchdog has been reviewing related laws to help end the discriminatory practice.
“According to the related law and treaty on the status of refugees, disabled refugees should be guaranteed an equal degree of social benefits regardless of their nationality,” the NHRC said.