The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice that it is necessary to improve the practice of deciding condolence and funeral payments for people who died or were injured during prison work through an internal meeting body composed only of officials at the correctional facility.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on the 6th that it visited three prisons nationwide and reached this conclusion. The investigation was conducted from Oct. to Nov. last year, targeting inmates and staff in charge of vocational training.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Second Committee on Remedy for Human Rights Violations determined that there are concerns about the objectivity and fairness of the compensation decision process because meetings that determine the amounts of condolence and funeral payments in cases of deaths or injuries within correctional facilities do not guarantee participation by outside experts or opportunities for inmates, the victims themselves, to present their opinions.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice the following: ensure participation by outside experts in the industrial accident field when deciding condolence and funeral payment amounts; establish procedures that guarantee inmates opportunities to present their opinions; and build a system to provide guidance on government compensation claims and related procedures.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also said it inspected the overall operation of prison workshops and vocational training centers and, with the cooperation of correctional facilities, improved some inadequate matters.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) expected that this recommendation would further strengthen the safety of working environments within correctional facilities and serve as an opportunity to expand the protection of inmates' substantive and procedural rights.