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Recommendation to Ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Sign the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [2007] KRNHRC 18 (1 January 2007)

The Commission believes that Korea can enhance its global status as a nation that
respects human rights, if it signs the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
and its Optional Protocol. Also, it believes that accession of the convention and protocol
would promote human rights of people with disabilities, in practical terms, because the
signed convention and protocol will have the same effect with domestic laws and become a
standards for policies for people with disabilities. Therefore, the Commission
recommended to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and
access the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Commission compared the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
with the Korean law on people with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities specifies right to pursue happiness, right to equality, and governments'
obligations to promote welfare of people with disabilities, which are also defined in
Articles 10, 11, and 34 of the Constitution of Korea, while the Anti-Discrimination against
and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act announced on April 10, 2007 specifies
respect for human dignity and human rights of people with disabilities, and prevention of
discrimination against people with disabilities. The latter has more detailed clauses on
prevention of discrimination or right to freedom that requires immediate remedies than the
former. Some clauses defined only in the former are designed to define obligations of
governments to protect social rights and to set the direction of policies for people with
disabilities by promoting human rights of people with disabilities.

Therefore, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities dose not conflict
with the Anti-Discrimination against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act. Also,
personal notification and Commission's right to investigate defined in the Optional
Protocol are designed to protect rights under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. In Korea, such rights are effectively protected under the Anti-Discrimination
against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act. Also, Korea has made efforts to
improve statues and systems related to Anti-Discrimination against and Remedies for
Persons with Disabilities Act. Therefore, there is no obstacle for Korea to sign the Optional
Protocol.