The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended that the Minister of the Ministry of Justice prepare measures to guarantee the right to education and the right to development of children staying long term in airport departure waiting rooms.
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the 11th, Mr. A and the child have been living in a departure waiting room at a domestic airport for a year. They applied for refugee status immediately after entry, but after not being referred for review, they have remained there without any particular alternative. Mr. A filed a petition with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), saying that the two, including the 10-year-old child, are suffering human rights violations.
The Ministry of Justice told the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that although they can freely depart at any time to their home country or a third country, they have been staying in the departure waiting room for a long period on the grounds of their refugee application. It also said they undergo regular health checkups and are allowed to freely use living convenience facilities, including meal provision.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) dismissed Mr. A's petition, finding it difficult to regard it as a human rights violation or discriminatory act. However, it viewed that the child, as a minor, must have the right to education and the right to development guaranteed. The commission judged that a child cannot independently decide matters such as whether to remain, whether to return to the home country, or whether to pursue litigation, and that, given the structure and operational characteristics of a departure waiting room, it cannot be considered an environment for the growth and development of a growing child.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended to the Ministry of Justice, "The child is in a situation where disadvantages are being borne due to actions for which the child is not responsible," adding, "At a minimum, alternative methods should be sought to achieve the purpose of immigration control while minimizing infringements of the basic rights that should be guaranteed to a child."