The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) urged the National Assembly once again to pass related bills to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the 29th, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) adopting the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Convention against Enforced Disappearance). Enforced disappearance refers to acts in which a state agency or an actor associated with it deprives a person of liberty by arrest, detention, or abduction, then refuses to acknowledge that deprivation of liberty or conceals the fate or whereabouts of the person, placing the victim outside the protection of the law.
Abductees to the North before and after the Korean War, unrepatriated prisoners of war from the South Korean military, and detainees in North Korea are also representative cases of enforced disappearance. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said enforced disappearance is a serious human rights violation that long-term harms several fundamental rights, including personal liberty, the right to life, and human dignity. It is also a problem in which not only the missing persons but also their families must repeat hope and despair for many years.
Accordingly, Korea ratified the Convention against Enforced Disappearance in 2022, and it took effect in 2023. However, while legal and institutional mechanisms are needed to effectively guarantee victims' right to know the truth, the right to realize justice, and the right to compensation and recovery, two related bills have yet to complete the legislative process. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also conveyed to the National Assembly speaker in July last year that swift passage of the relevant bills was necessary.
In particular, the government submitted its first state report related to the Convention against Enforced Disappearance, and the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances adopted a list of issues in March this year. The government must submit its replies to the list of issues by Mar. 2027.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said, "Marking the 20th anniversary of the convention's adoption, we urge the government and the National Assembly to be more proactive in ensuring the convention is fully and effectively implemented domestically."
It added, "We must promptly prepare the laws necessary to implement the convention, ensure that victims can participate in every step of fact-finding and remedy, and continue to strengthen prevention systems so that no one becomes a victim of enforced disappearance going forward."
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said, "We will listen more closely to the voices of victims of enforced disappearance and their families and will repeatedly examine the unresolved issues of enforced disappearance from the victims' perspective."