NHRCK hosts 2021 International Human Rights Conference
- Conference Jointly held with the European Union(EU Representatives) -
- Discussion on the protection for the marginalised groups in the COVID19 and ‘Equality Act’ Legislation -
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea(Chairperson Young-ae Choi) held 2021 International Human Rights Conference with the EU representatives and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institution(APF) on August 24.
The conference began with the Chairperson's opening remarks and the congratulatory speech from Sang-hee Kim, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. The experts from national human rights institutions, international organizations, human rights groups and academic fields gathered to discuss various issues concerning the rights of the people with disabilities, elderly people, LGBTQIA+, refugees, immigrants and others. The countries that have implemented ‘Comprehensive Anti-discrimination Law’ also shared their successes and challenges in the process of legislating and implementing the law.
The special keynote speech was made by the national assembly member Joo-min Park, from the Minjoo Party(The Democratic Party of Korea). Keynote addresses by the NHRCK commissioner Chan-un Park and the Ambassador of the European Union to ROK Maria Castillo Fernanadez followed to describe the reaction from home and abroad regarding 'the protection of the rights of socially marginalised people in the COVID19 and 'Equality Act legislation' and to propose the ways to respond to the current state of affairs.
The overall theme of the conference was 'the protection of the rights of marginalised people in the COVID19 situation', and renowned experts from different parts of the world participated as presenters of the Conference. Session 1 focused on how to respond to the pending human rights issues in different fields while the main topic of Session 2 was about the domestic implementation of international human rights norms in the COVID19 situation and the role of civil society organizations and national human rights institutions and their response. The theme of Session 3 was 'the meaning of legislating Equality Act and the tasks for future'.
