On November 14, 2007, 101 nationwide human rights, women and religious NGOs including Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and Korean Women’s Associations United (KWAU) met the press in front of the Chung Wa Dae (the Presidential Residence), in order to call for the appropriate enactment of a Discrimination Prevention Act.
A press conference was called to denounce the reduction in the scopes of discrimination stipulated by the bill although it was already discussed at a public hearing, and to enact an appropriate act during the tenure of this president.
Initially, it was stipulated in the Discrimination Prevention Act that ‘treatments and actions of segregating, differentiating, restricting, excluding or disadvantaging an individual or a group in excuse of marriage, pregnancy or childbirth, type of family, religion, ideology or political view, criminal records, custody, sexual orientation, educational background, social status, and physical conditions including sex, disability, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, skin color, native place, appearance without any reasonable reason’ are classified into scopes of discrimination, and the Law Ministry made its preliminary announcement from October 2nd 2007. Nevertheless, the articles regarding ‘sexual orientation, educational background and military record, nationality, language, criminal records, type of family and family condition’ were removed, when the bill was submitted to the Regulatory Reform Committee after the period of the public preliminary notification.
At the press conference, a statement was made by Nam-Yoon Insoon. Followed were denouncements by Park-Kim Younghee (activist of Solidarity against Disability Discrimination), Kim Jungbum (a chairperson of Association of Physicians for Humanism and Korean Federation of Medical Groups of Health Rights), Cho Heejoo (from Progressive Education Network), clergywoman Lee Moonsook (secretary general of Korea Church Women United), Jang Seo-yon (lawyer from Gong-Gam, a public interest lawyers’ group) who denounced the problematic reduction in the scopes of discrimination. After that, performances were carried out to call for the enactment of an appropriate discrimination prevention act as a means of realizing an ‘equal society,’ and a press release was read. Participating organizations discussed future actions and planned to take a variety of actions to enact the appropriate discrimination prevention bill.
Written by Park-Cha Okkyung, KWAU
Press Release
November 14th 2007
The enactment of ‘Discrimination Prevention Act’ suggested by the Law Ministry was under construction with the shrunken scopes of discrimination when the preliminary notification of the enactment was made after a public hearing was held on September 12, 2007.
It is stipulated in the proposed act that ‘treatments and actions of segregating, differentiating, restricting, excluding or disadvantaging an individual or a group in excuse of marriage, pregnancy or childbirth, type of family, religion, ideology or political view, criminal record, custody, sexual orientation, educational background, social status, and physical conditions including sex, disability, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, skin color, native place, appearance without any reasonable reason’ are classified into scopes of discrimination. Nevertheless, the articles regarding ‘sexual orientation, educational background and military record, nationality, language, criminal records, type of family and family condition’ were removed, when the bill was submitted to the Regulatory Reform Committee after the period of public preliminary notification.
Social agreement on ‘discrimination’ shouldn’t be receded anymore
The aims of the act are shown in the initial ‘Discrimination Prevention Act’ to ‘stop and to prevent discrimination in all areas including political, economic and cultural lives, and to effectively redeem and relieve damages due to the discrimination as a means of realizing human dignity and equality.’ As cases regarding the 7 scopes of discrimination removed by the Law Ministry frequently take place in our daily life, the bill should include the scopes. Public opinions and the authorities concerned were already collected and reflected to the initially proposed act about four and half years until July 2006 from January 2003 when the National Human Rights Commission of Korea had organized the Discrimination Prevention Enactment Promotion Committee, and gained social agreement on the scopes of discrimination. Nevertheless, the Law Ministry arbitrarily shrank the scopes to reflect opinions from some conservative groups and religious organizations which are in opposition to the enactment. This shows the low awareness of Noh Mu Hyun’s administration on ‘discrimination.’
The government shouldn’t defame the Discrimination Prevention Act anymore
The act after the preliminary announcement was substantially shrunk back compared to that suggested by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. In Law Minister's act making process ‘type of employment’ was removed from discrimination prevention reasons because the government had been concerned about persistent oppositions raised by business circles, and the tattered act was preliminarily announced with the arbitrary shrunk scope of discrimination, while some measures regarding orders to remedy, fines for compulsory fulfillment, disciplinary compensations for damages for ill intentioned discriminations, and feasible discrimination redemptions such as transfers of burden of proofs were removed. To make it worse, it is declared that the Law Ministry got rid of characteristic reasons for discrimination including ‘sexual orientation, educational background and military record, nationality, language, criminal record, type of family and situations of family’ as a means of considering the oppositions of some religious groups and conservative organizations.
The Law Ministry emphasized its rebirth as Human Rights & Law Ministry, installing the bureau of human rights. But, the steps against the principle taken by the ministry in the process of the enactment, show the ministry is a timid one with an air of surprise rather than Human Rights & Law Ministry. The ministry should try to revive the 7 removed articles regarding the scopes of discrimination, substantially consolidate measures regarding discrimination redemptions, and present an effective bill in the National Assembly. The ministry should be responsible for blocking an appropriate enactment, if a suitable bill is not submitted for any reason.
President Noh should undertake the appropriate enactment
President Noh Mu Hyun underlined the ‘development of a well-balanced society’ as his vision and aim that all of us must continue to pursue for five years， when he took office. Without the structure of conflicts such as privileges, discrimination and exclusion, a well-balanced advanced society can be realized in which people are united. Though late, nevertheless it is fortunate that the government has carried out the enactment of the bill. However, we are concerned about to what extent the tattered Discrimination Prevention Act can prevent, stop, and redeem various types of discriminations, and if the bill can enhance its sensitiveness and awareness of discrimination as a fundamental law. Noh Mu Hyun's administration should apply its initial critical mind to the appropriate enactment. The government should suggest in the National Assembly, an act which can substantially include the recommendations made by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, not the current one preliminarily announced by the Law Ministry.
We are opposed to the wrong process in which Noh Mu Hyun's administration has anxiously focused on only the legislation even though the Discrimination Prevention Act is tattered. The government should do all its best to revive the removed reasons for discrimination prevention and to generate an effective and feasible Discrimination Prevention Act.
Announced by 101 nationwide human rights, women and religious NGOs including Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and Korean Women’s Associations United (KWAU) in order to call for the enactment of an appropriate Discrimination Prevention Act