[USFK Forums] Editorial: Rights Commission Slammed for Exceeding Mandate [Chosun]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Editorial: Rights Commission Slammed for Exceeding Mandate

The Chosun Ilbo: Updated Mar.27,2006 20:57 KST

The “new right” Liberty Union on Monday accused the National Human Right Commission of getting bogged down in matters that have nothing to do with its original mandate. The group, which consists of mostly younger intellectuals espousing a liberal democracy and market economics ideology, made the comments at a debate titled “Is the National Human Rights Commission getting the job done?” at the Seoul Press Center. “Both the composition and the role of the Human Rights Commission -- which continues to take on matters that exceed its mandate and the bounds of the Constitution and are unrealistic -- must change,” the group said.

“The Human Rights Commission recommended the complete abolition of the National Security Law, as well as issuing a report calling for freedom for teachers and professors to conduct political activities, both of which exceed what the Constitution permits,” said Prof. Kang Gyeong-geun, a legal expert with Soongsil University. “As a government institution, if the NHRC cannot do the job it is entrusted with, its entire existence becomes suspect."

Lee Hun, the director of Lawyers for Citizens, said the NHRC’s “action plan” published in January contained recommendations that were “not at all in tune with public opinion, and a significant number of points that public opinion was squarely against.” Lawyer Lee Jae-kyo pointed out that the action plan significantly has nothing to say on controversial new press laws that have been internationally criticized, saying it fails to address “freedom of speech and publication, which are at the core of democracy.” He said this proved that the commission has a political agenda.

Leading Liberty Union member Kim Hye-joon said there are clear double standards at work at the NHRC, which likes to cite UN Human Rights Commission resolutions as a golden rule when trying to justify its opinions but ignores the same body’s resolutions condemning rights abuses in North Korea. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on North Korean human rights last December and the UN Human Rights Commission adopted a resolution on NK human rights three years in a row since 2003. Kim also slammed Korea’s commission for its silence on abductees and prisoners of war still languishing in the North.




url: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/ht...603270021.html