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Recommendation on Implementation of International Human Rights Standards in Korea [2004] KRNHRC 33 (23 February 2004)

International human rights standards, such as international human rights covenants and
treaties, have served as guidelines for each nation to formulate policies on human rights.
The degree to which a country recognizes and observes various international human rights
standards has become a yardstick for ascertaining the human rights conditions in a country.
Since it was established, the Commission has urged the government to accede to and
observe various international covenants and treaties, and it has monitored the government's
implementation of treaties previously ratified. These efforts are meant to improve domestic
laws and legal systems relating to human right, ultimately to bring Korea up to par with
international standards.

The Commission Act stipulates that if a related state organ prepares a governmental
report under the provisions of any international treaty on human rights, it shall hear the
opinions of the Commission. The Commission examined the third governmental report on
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for 2004 and expressed opinions to
the Ministry of Justice.

The Commission examined the third governmental report according to general guidelines
given by the UN Human Rights Committee and the concluding opinions of the Human
Rights Committee on the first and second governmental reports submitted by Korea. The
Committee found that it was difficult to ascertain the overall status of implementation
because the report focused only on the description of statutes and policies under the
jurisdiction of the Administration. The report also did not offer adequate discussion on
whether the issues previously citied during the deliberation of the second government report
had been addressed or resolved.

The third government report states that international covenants supercede domestic laws
without carefully analyzing decisions of the Constitutional Court and precedents of other
courts, and it did not include explanations on practical application of enacted and revised
laws. It was noted that the third governmental report failed to provide information
objectively on the level of guarantee for civic and political rights in the Korean society,
and only listed related polices of the government.

In February 23, 2004, the Commission expressed opinions that the aforementioned
problems should be resolved and any omissions addressed. The Ministry of Justice accepted
the opinions of the Commission in part, and it plans to submit a revised government report
to the UN in early 2005.