By Lee Kyung-min
A group of former workers at a private body that studies United Nations human rights policies alleged, Monday, their group leadership has engaged in multiple human rights violations for years.
All four of the group’s workers at the Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy (KOCUN) quit last week.
In a statement issued Sunday, the four demanded the group leadership be held accountable for what they call “hypocritical” management.
In the Facebook message posted by the group, the four said they were under constant threat of dismissal and their pay was reduced or denied.
They claimed they were subject to abusive treatment that entailed their years of efforts being severely undermined and they were left voiceless under a unilateral, top-down chain of command.
“We decided to raise this issue publicly because we could no longer continue our mission to safeguard human rights, democracy, dignity and equality,” the group said.
“We have devoted up to eight years in efforts to better help human rights policy recommendations be effectively implemented in the everyday lives of the people. That was to bring change and make a difference.”
They said they have been left helpless and enraged to see their values being shattered by the leadership.
The group leadership includes Ewha Womans University Graduate School of International Studies professor Shin Hei-soo, Seoul National University sociology professor Chung Chin-Sung and Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies associate professor of Japanese studies and anthropology Han Seung-mi.
Shin is a member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a United Nations body of 18 experts. She served as a member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women from 2001 to 2008, and a nonpermanent member of the National Human Rights Commission from 2005 to 2008.
Chung is a former member of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee. She was elected in June to serve a three-year term on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination starting in 2018.
The group leadership, the four said, frustrated efforts to issue a statement in 2015 against Reps. Park Young-sun, Kim Moo-sung and former Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea.
The group sought to denounce the bigwig lawmakers for their anti-gay remarks made during a Christian prayer gathering ahead of the 2014 general election.
The three publicly said they were against any legislative efforts to guarantee equal rights protection for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, claiming “homosexuality was against God’s will.”
One of the four former KOCUN officials said they were ordered not to issue statements concerning politically sensitive issues, which more often than not directly involved human rights violations.
“We only want to be allowed to faithfully carry out our duties without being insulted or shamed for not speaking up sooner about an issue that goes to the core identity of the group,” the official said.
The conflict between the four workers and the leadership, the group said, reached its peak last November, when the former stood up against the latter’s continued verbal abuse over mission projects.
The group said it sought to establish a mediation committee to resolve the conflict, but the leadership threatened to dismiss the workers, ignoring the suggestion.
The group said the leadership overtook its work, thereby canceling funds for its activity citing budget constraints.
KOCUN was not available for comment.