Asian watchdog asks int`l rights committee to downgrade S. Korea

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SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- An Asian human rights watchdog is seeking to downgrade
the status of South Korea's state rights commission, claiming that its
independence has been compromised.
In an open letter to the Geneva-based International Coordinating Committee of
National Institutions for Human Rights, or ICC, the Asian Human Rights Commission
criticized the recent appointment of South Korea's new human rights chief, who
was hand-picked by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
Posted on the Web site of the Hong Kong-based, non-governmental watchdog, the
letter also took issue with a government-initiated downsizing of the National
Human Rights Commission of Korea.
"We request this on the basis that the NHRCK no longer complies" with
international principles, the letter read. "The independence of the body is
seriously setback by the administration."
The organization asked the ICC to downgrade the South Korean commission's current
"A" accreditation to "B."
The ICC, which represents national rights institutions around the world, annually
evaluates the performance of member institutions according to the Paris
Principles, a U.N.-endorsed standard that requires a national rights body to be
independent, have diverse membership and be equipped with adequate powers of
investigation. Only countries with A status are granted voting rights in the ICC.

Hyun Byung-chul, a law scholar and chancellor of Hanyang Cyber University in
Seoul, was appointed last month as head of the South Korean rights body. Hyun's
election drew strong protests from civic organizations who see him as unfit for
the job because he has not been involved the nation's tumultuous human rights
movement.
After Hyun was appointed, the Korean rights commission withdrew its bid for the
rotating ICC chairmanship, apparently fearing it would fall short given Hyun's
thin human rights background.
Hyun's predecessor, Ahn Kyong-hwan, stepped down in June amid an escalating
conflict over a government-ordered downsizing of the rights commission by 30
percent.
"The new administration attempted to put the legal status of the NHRCK under the
direct control of the president in early 2008 under the name of efficiency," the
Asian watchdog said, referring to the Lee government, which was inaugurated in
February last year.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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