o National Human Rights Commission of Korea hereby presents the following statement regarding the Concluding Observation of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights(Committee) on the 4th state report of the Republic of Korea regarding implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(ICESCR) to urge full implementation of the recommendation to the government.
o ICESCR, one of the most basic and important international human rights treaties, was adopted in December 1966 at the UN General Assembly and took effect in January 1976. Korea joined and ratified the treaty in 1990, and as of October 2017, 166 countries are party to the treaty.
o The government of Korea, as a party to the ICESCR, submitted state report on implementation of the ICESCR to the Committee for four times in 2001, 2006, 2009 and 2016 pursuant to article 16.1 of the ICESCR. This concluding observation is the result of the deliberation at the 54th and 55th meeting of the Committee on the 4th state report submitted by the Korean government in June 2016 and assessment of the international community regarding implementation status of the ICESCR since the 3rd Concluding Observation 8 years ago, in 2009.
o The Concluding Observation positively views amendment of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea Act in 2016 providing for a transparent and participatory selection process; Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crime of 2014; Refugee Act of 20143; Act on Gender Impact Analysis and Assessment of 2011; and Amendment of 2010 of the Higher Education Act, which placed an upper ceiling on tuition increase.
o However, the Committee presented 71 concerns and recommendations regarding 30 issues. Main recommendations include establish legal obligation regarding human rights infringements by Korean companies, especially those operation in other countries; enact comprehensive anti-discrimination act; take effective measures to curb the abuse of irregular forms of employment including sub-contractors, dispatched workers and employees with special forms of employment; implement detailed measures to bridge gender pay gap; protect the right to labor and social security of migrant workers; ease the conditions for conducting legal strikes and restricts the scope of the definition of essential services so as to ensure the effective exercise of the right to strike; ratify the ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Oganize Convention No. 87 and the Rights to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention No. 98.; abolish family duty to support its members; provide measures to prevent elderly and child abuse; strengthen its effort to prevent suicide; and devise housing policies including long-term solutions regarding homelessness.
o The Committee particularly emphasized urgency of the issues regarding business and human rights, anti-discrimination act, and right to trade union by requesting the Korean government to provide information on implementation of those recommendations within 18 months from the adoption of the Concluding Observation.
o Regarding NHRCK, the Committee recommended to guarantee full participation of NHRCK and civil society in establishment, monitoring and assessment of the NAP and to make an amendment to the NHRCK Act to include and investigate cases regarding economic, social and cultural rights as complaints.
o In particular, with regards to enactment of a comprehensive anti-discrimination act, in line with a series of recommendations from other UN treaty bodies such as the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and Human Rights Committee, the 4th Concluding Observation of the Committee reiterated urgency of enactment of a comprehensive anti-discrimination act and recommended to raise awareness of the public and lawmakers on harmful effect of discrimination.
o In addition, the Committee recommended to take effective measures to eliminate de jure and de facto discrimination against sexual minorities; abrogate the provision of the Military Criminal Act criminalize same-sex acts; ensure that the comprehensive anti-discrimination act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity; and conduct awareness raising campaigns to counter prejudices regarding sexual minorities.
o Those recommendations are in line with the recommendations and opinions expressed by NHRCK to the Korean government, and NHRCK truly welcomes that the Concluding Observation includes 10 main issues proposed by the NHRCK in its independent report. NHRCK will continue to make efforts to implement the Concluding Observation by reflecting the recommendations in the draft 5th NAP.
o NHRCK values the recommendation from the Committee and will host a panel discussion on implementation measures of the Concluding Observation in November. NHRCK urges the Korean government to make active efforts to address concerns and implement recommendations of the Committee, thereby contributing to the full implementation of the ICESCR in Korea.
