National Human Rights Commission of Korea(NHRCK) opened the Plenary Committee for securing human right for Hansen" s disease patients and their family, and announced the recommendation for them on May 8th, 2006.
Chairperson Mr. Young-hoang Cho, on his own briefing, announced the recommendation as below.
▷ To the minister of Health and Welfare
- To establish special laws to enforce the investigation of the past days human rights violations and discrimination, and indemnify for them
- To improve the national Sorokdo hospital environments
- To discard the central registering method of Hansen’s disease patients
- To embrace the Hansen’s disease patients on the system for people with disabilities and to give them the benefits of the system
- To recommend the proper education and public awareness campaigns for the medical staffs, students and citizen
▷ To the " Truth and Reconciliation Commission" of the Republic of Korea
- " The Truth and Reconciliation Commission" has to take proper actions for the investigation in the past major human right violations and discrimination against Hansen patients, and compensate for the results, and restore those patient" s dignity.
▷ To the governors of local governments in which areas Hansen" s disease patients settlement plantation exist
- The local governments should respectively improve the poor dwelling environment and to secure the method for the transparency and democracy for the patients of Hansen’s disease.
Until this time, the Commission selected the human right improvement for the Hansen" s disease patients as the major project of 2005 and hosted specialists" forums several times, and Korean-Japan discussion forum for the Hansen’s disease patients, the research on the actual conditions for the human rights of the Hansen’s disease patients.
Chairperson Cho visited Chilgok farm and Sangrok farm, the settlement plantation and National Sorok Hospital last year. Mr. Cho gathered the petitions of the patients about their poor economic life, educational discrimination, prejudice against them, health status etc. These nearly 160 cases petitions were filed and would be available for this policy recommendation to improve human rights of the Hansen’s disease patients.
