32nd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Item 3: Promotion and Protection of all Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development

Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur

on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

Oral Statement Delivered by Ms. Minjuwha Baek on Behalf of
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD)
Korean Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy (KOCUN)
MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society

Friday, 17 June 2016

 
Thank you, Mr. President.
 
My name is Minjuwha Baek, and I am the daughter of the 69 year-old farmer Namgi Baek in the Republic of Korea who was mentioned in the Special Rapporteur’s report. My father was targeted and knocked down by the police’s water cannon on 14 November last year, during a protest for the increase in rice prices. He remains in coma for more than 200 days due to severe brain damage.
 
The Government imposed an arbitrary ban on the protest, claiming it was not an assembly but a crime. They named the protest unlawful and not peaceful, even before it took place. The police arrested or summoned more than 500 protesters. This includes Mr. Sang-kyun Han, the president of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU), facing up to 8-year imprisonment for organizing the protest.
 
The police blocked main roads and streets with hundreds of bus barricades and thousands of police forces, even hours before the protest. The police shot water cannons with capsaicin to protesters indiscriminately for hours.
 
No apology, No investigation, No justice.
The government of the Republic of Korea insisted on having a thorough investigation. For 7 months, all they did was summoning my sister once. If you hit someone who is not attacking you, you should apologize and do everything to fix it. Every human being knows this.
 
We want a sincere apology, thorough investigation, and justice for my family and for all.
 
Mr. President,
If you allow me for 5 seconds I would like to invite my father to speak for himself. (Holding Mr. Baek's photo)
 
Thank you, Mr. President
 

37th Regular Session Human Rights Council

Item 6 : Consideration of the Universal Periodic Review outcome of Republic of Korea 

Oral Statement Delivered by Ms. Rosanna Ocampo on Behalf of
South Korean NGO Coalition for the 3rd Cycle of the UPR

Mr President, FORUM-ASIA delivers this statement together with the South Korean NGO Coalition for the 3rd Cycle of the UPR. We appreciate the government of the Republic of Korea’s efforts to engage with civil society in the UPR process. However, we regret that some of our key concerns have been ignored.

Despite deep concerns expressed by numerous states, the Republic of Korea has merely noted recommendations to abolish the death penalty  and the National Security Law ; to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law, which also addresses discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity ; and to allow civilian alternative service for conscientious objectors to military service.  Furthermore, the government has not accepted recommendations to improve the human rights of migrants and their families. 

We welcome the government’s support for recommendations on freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly and peaceful association, including to ratify four ILO core conventions.  We welcome its commitment to protect human rights defenders, and to investigate excessive use of state force against human rights defenders and trade union representatives. We also look forward to the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to prevent gender-based violence.  However, the government has yet to implement concrete measures on any of these issues.

Civil society in the Republic of Korea calls upon the government to develop a concrete and time-bound implementation plan in consultation with the national human rights institution and civil society organisations.  We look forward to further engagement with the government and the international community in following up on UPR recommendations.

Thank you.

Thursday, 15 March 2018

South Korean NGO Coalition for the 3rd Cycle of the UPR

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