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The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) deleted references to numerous potentially damaging human rights developments in a draft opinion on human rights covenant implementation recently submitted to the United Nations.

Omissions included the fact-finding investigation into the April 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, legal complaints against the press by the Blue House, and the disbandment of the Unified Progressive Party - all of which could make South Korea appear to be regressing on human rights issues.

The NHRCK announced on Mar. 1 that it had submitted an Information Note to the UN Human Rights Council the month before in connection with a review for the fourth national implementation report on the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A previous government report in 2011 covered implementation of the covenant between 2004 and 2010.

The UN solicits opinions from governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and national human rights bodies to conduct a review before issuing final recommendations. The opinions of ostensibly independent human rights bodies like the NHRCK are seen as more objective and neutral than those from governments or civil society, which may be seen as biased.

A draft version of the Information Note was reported to the NHRCK‘s standing committee on Jan. 15 by its human rights policy division. Sixty-five issues were selected in the 17 areas designated in the UN convention. Many dealt with violations of crucial human and civil rights, including the statute of limitations on espionage framing cases, the fairness and independence of the Sewol ferry sinking fact-finding committee, surveillance by the National Intelligence Service and data storage and distribution by communications companies, the Constitutional Court’s disbandment of the UPP, increased legal complaints from the Blue House and administration against media critics, illegal data collection by police, the charging of demonstrators with “obstruction of one-way traffic,” and damage claims and asset garnishment against striking workers.

Members of the NHRCK standing committee demanded the draft be rewritten, citing the inclusion of “matters where the NHRCK has not issued an opinion,” the need to focus on the situation through 2010 (the subject of the fourth national report), and concerns with the overall length.

A revised version was submitted to the standing committee by the human rights policy department on Feb. 5. 28 of the original issues had been omitted. The standing committee removed an additional eight. Among the deletions was the reference to illegal data collection - the subject of an NHRCK improvement recommendation submitted to the National Police Agency last year.

“Our understanding is that the list of issues was shortened because the content was too broad-ranging and needed to be narrowed down to matters specifically concerned with civil rights,” the NHRCK said.

“We left out matters that are the subject of ongoing trials or have otherwise not been concluded, such as the Sewol investigation,” the NHRCK added. “Once they are resolved, they may be included in the next report.”

But the explanation is undercut by internal reports stating that UN national report reviews should “include the enforcement situation through the present.”

Human rights groups blasted the omissions as a petty attempt to avoid international criticisms of the deteriorating human rights situations under the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations and the NHRCK’s own decline under chairman Hyun Byung-chul.

“The NHRCK has an obligation to report accurately to the UN on human rights infringements at home and prevent problems from occurring,” said Myeong Sook, an executive committee member for the group Joint Movement for Restoring the NHRCK to Its Proper Place.

“The deletion is both a dereliction of duty and an active attempt to cover up the country’s human rights infringements,” Myeong said.

An NHRCK source who asked to remain anonymous said the measure appears to result from “unqualified commission members taking political advantage of the NHRCK to omit things that could prove awkward for the administration.”

Human rights groups plan to send a petition regarding the deletion to the UN and International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC).

By Lee Jae-uk, staff reporter

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