(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on March 31) - Downsizing NHRC

The notion that the National Human Rights Commission cannot be downsized because it is an independent organization working for human rights is unacceptable. It is equally improper that the NHRC be downsized simply because it was established by a liberal government.

The Cabinet meeting yesterday finalized a plan to cut the manpower of the state
human rights body to 164 people from the present 208 "for more organizational
efficiency" as advised by the Board of Audit and Inspection last year.
Immediately, the NHRC filed a petition to the Constitutional Court questioning
the appropriateness of the government decision. The commission, made up of 11
commissioners, requested an injunction to deter the Ministry of Government
Administration and Safety from carrying out the NHRC downsizing.
It is utterly regrettable that a dispute that developed between a government
ministry and another state organization has been brought to the court after
months of arguing. The NHRC was established seven years ago in observance of the
International Human Rights Declaration, not on the basis of the nation's
Constitution. The top court will therefore have to make a judgment by the general
principle of the basic law rather than on specific legal provisions.
The Government Administration Ministry first came up with a 49 percent manpower
reduction plan for the NHRC last year and the commission resisted it on the
grounds that it is independent from any of the government's administrative,
legislative and judiciary branches and that no interference in its organization
was acceptable. The ministry retorted that the special law on NHRC provides that
its organization is to be governed by presidential decree. Over the months, the
reduction plan was changed to 30 percent and then to a final 21 percent cut.
Watching the dispute, we notice an underlying notion among the leaders of the
present administration that the NHRC is a basically useless body whose functions
are "duplicated" with those of other government organizations such as the
Ministries of Justice, Women and Family, and Labor, and the Anti-Corruption and
Civil Rights Commission of Korea. They have complained that its track record of
opposing the dispatch of troops to Iraq and near silence on the North Korean
human rights situation shows little difference from the activities of a
leftist-oriented civil society organization.
However, since its inception in 2001, the commission has played an important role
in addressing human rights problems in this country, identifying cases of rights
abuses in deep corners of corporate, military and other social structures long
condoned in the name of tradition. Almost every day, the NHRC office near Seoul
City Hall is visited by groups and individuals protesting violations of their
rights and appealing for remedial measures. About 80 percent of cases filed with
the commission are complaints about actions by government authorities.
Abrupt social transformation over the past decades accompanied by rapid economic
development and political democratization has left numerous sectors unprotected
in terms of human rights. Physically handicapped people, migrant workers,
unsupported children and old people, inmates at relief facilities, irregular
workers and other underprivileged people need special care and protection by an
organization of independent function and power. Asking the commission to cut
one-fifth of its staff could pose a serious threat to its independence.
Any organization can expose inefficiency after years of operation and the NHRC
cannot be an exception. The BAI, the Government Administration Ministry, and the
NHRC need to closely cooperate in searching for ways to improve the commission's
management. Simply setting a target rate for manpower reduction is hardly
convincing.
(END)