National Human Rights Research Articles

소년예고범죄 예방을 위한 형사정책적 개선방안에 관한 연구

According to a media article, the Ministry of Justice announced a “comprehensive countermeasure against juvenile crimes” in October last year and announced legislation to revise the Juvenile Act to lower the age limit for young people from the current age of 14 to the age of 13. Since then, the National Assembly has also issued a series of bills, including criminal penalties for violent crimes. However, amendments to the Juvenile Act have been pending in the National Assembly for nearly a year. This is in conflict with the opposition that it violates the human rights of juvenile offenders and that it is difficult to expect the effect of preventing crime. In October last year, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea expressed opposition, saying that the lowering of the age of young people is contrary to the perspective of returning and recovering boys required by the UN (United Nations) international human rights standards and is not desirable as an alternative to crime prevention and recidivism. In response, the Ministry of Justice said, “Even if the age standard for juvenile is lowered, minor juvenile crimes will be sent to the juvenile department as they are now,” and explained, “Even if it is actually legislated, only violent crimes such as rape and robbery will be punished,” but it has not even been discussed. Some say that the degree of development of teenagers has increased compared to the past due to access to media, and that discussions on countermeasures should be made quickly. As we saw earlier, many of the posts were confirmed to be the work of teenagers, and the desire to be recognized as heroes within a group that mainly feels friendly as an online meme seeking stimulation and fun and a trend was revealed. This is very similar to terrorism in that socially isolated criminals carry out indiscriminate attacks against an unspecified number of people as an expression of anger toward others. Recently, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the National Police Agency held a meeting of related organizations to strengthen the response to the crime of abnormal motives (aka 'don't ask'). The meeting was prepared to discover additional measures and seek ways to strengthen cooperation with related ministries, recognizing that the public's anxiety is high due to a series of abnormal motive crimes such as the recent deadly weapon rampage, and to share measures to respond to abnormal motive crimes by each ministry, gather opinions on ways to cooperate and support the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, and discuss issues such as expanding crime prevention infrastructure such as security cameras (CCTV), expanding joint response models for mentally ill people, and supporting autonomous crime prevention activities. Boys' pre-announcement crimes are not yesterday or today because they have caused difficulties in their work in the past due to indiscriminate prank calls by investigative agencies. However, it seems that crime of don't ask and crime of abnormal motivation, which is not just a prank phone call, should no longer be ignored in our society.

안면인식기술과 개인정보보호

Face recognition technology is a method that utilizes thermal infrared photography, three-dimensional measurement, and skeletal analysis to scan, store, and recognize facial shapes or thermal images. It verifies identity by comparing facial images captured by cameras with those in a stored photo database. This technology is extensively applied in various sectors, such as identity verification and access control, due to its high accuracy and quick identification capabilities. The advancement of facial recognition technology, coupled with CCTV, the Internet of Things (IoT), and widespread network connections, is materializing dystopian fears concerning omnipresent surveillance and the ensuing erosion of privacy. Additionally, biased facial recognition technology may serve as a tool for discrimination, infringing upon the rights and freedoms of minorities and other marginalized groups. In 2023, the National Human Rights Commission of The Republic of Korea issued a statement regarding human rights violations facilitated by facial recognition technology and urged the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister to actively respond. The statement highlighted that direct observation of individuals' faces in public spaces by the state could limit citizens' freedom of movement and lead to unwarranted surveillance. Given the unique nature of biometric information, such as facial recognition technology, the repercussions of data breaches and misuse are more severe compared to other types of personal information. Specifically, real-time facial recognition technology that targets an unspecified number of individuals in public spaces without their consent may infringe upon the right to privacy and informational self-determination, as well as other fundamental rights including privacy, freedom of assembly, and freedom of association. Furthermore, real-time facial recognition security systems pose challenges in terms of privacy protection and invasion. Hence, the security of collected facial data, defenses against hacking threats, and the secure management of facial databases require thorough examination. This study explores the legal framework and international legislative trends related to biometric information, including facial recognition technology, to identify measures for protecting personal information and ensuring the safe use of this technology.

Some issues of the status and functioning of the United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine

Today, the United Nations plays a leading role in the development of international law and cooperation among the world's states. Member states have pledged to realize their rights and fulfill their obligations under the UN Charter. The main objectives of the UN are envisaged in Article 1 of the Charter, where the key provision relating to human rights is reflected in paragraph 3 of Article 1. According to it, the UN aims to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of race, sex, language or religion [1]. As it can be seen, the Charter only calls on states parties to promote the protection of human rights, without establishing clear obligations to protect and guarantee them.
 Since 2014, i.e. since Russia launched its war against Ukraine, the aggressor has not stopped committing crimes against our country and our people. Russia's actions encroach not only on the sovereignty of our state, but also on human rights and freedoms. Under such circumstances, the international community cannot stand aside from these events. Many international human rights organizations have offices in Ukraine. Among them is the UN. On 31.07.2014, the Government of Ukraine and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights signed an agreement on the deployment of a short-term UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine.
 The legal status of UN monitoring missions in legal science has not been the subject of a separate study. Certain aspects of the activities and competence of such missions have been considered in the works of such scholars as I.A. Shumilo [14], F. Megre [13], K. Boyle [12] and others, which are devoted to the coverage of international mechanisms for the protection of human rights and freedoms, the status of the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council. Therefore, the task set out in this article is to analyze and establish the specifics of the legal status of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission (hereinafter - the Mission), in particular, the one established for Ukraine, and the limits of the Mission's powers under the UN Charter, UN General Assembly resolutions, and international agreements between UN agencies and Ukraine. Therefore, the relevance of this article is beyond doubt. It has been established that the purpose of the Mission is to facilitate cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (hereinafter - OHCHR)[2] and it plays the role of a subsidiary mechanism for the protection of human rights and freedoms within the UN. The conclusions of the mission will undoubtedly serve as a convincing additional evidence base for Ukraine in international judicial and other bodies in protecting its interests and establishing the guilt of the Russian Federation for actions committed against our country.

Institutionalizing human rights in the United States: Advocacy for a national human rights institution

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) have been part of the infrastructure of international law since 1946, two years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was completed. Globally, more than 120 nations have established independent NHRIs. Two-thirds of these have been accredited by the Global Association of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) after passing a rigorous review to assess their compliance with the Paris Principles, a set of minimum standards for NHRIs. The United States does not have an NHRI and the federal government has resisted calls from both domestic NGOs and the international community to establish such an institution. Domestic advocates nevertheless continue to pursue creative approaches to promote human rights monitoring and implementation in the United States. U.S. civil society submissions to treaty bodies regularly draw attention to the need for a U.S. NHRI. On the domestic stage, advocates likewise urge the federal government to take a greater role in human rights monitoring, implementation, and coordination. However, as a global power and a key actor in the UN system, the U.S. government experiences few consequences for failing to establish an NHRI. In sum, the absence of a U.S. NHRI is a challenge not only for domestic advocates, but for the international system as well.

Judicial Convergence and Fragmentation in International Human Rights Law: the Regional Systems and the United Nations Human Rights Committee

Judicial Convergence and Fragmentation in International Human Rights Law: the Regional Systems and the United Nations Human Rights Committee

Symbiotic Justice: Hate Crimes, Police Humiliation, and Layered Legal Consciousness in Dalit Human Rights

This article responds to scholarly critiques, which highlight the failures of hate crime legislation in delivering justice to historically oppressed groups. Drawing on ethnographic data on the mobilisation of India's only hate crime law – the Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act– among Dalit (untouchable) communities, the article proposes that the potential of hate crime law to create a restitution must be analysed in conversation with other social justice frameworks. In India, Dalit legal aid advocates interweave hate crime cases with a culturally specific discourse of Dalit human rights. By strategically bringing “failed” PoA investigations before India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dalit advocates hold the police accountable for negligent investigations, while also creating collective affects of hope for survivors of casteist crimes. This process, which I call symbiotic justice, engenders a form of legal consciousness, which regards hate crime law as a creative tool that can offer new avenues of agency.

Transitional justice at the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal: challenging legitimacy, credibility, and effectiveness

ABSTRACT In the past three decades, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) have becoming an increasingly common feature of transitional and post-conflict justice processes. As institutions designed to promote and protect human rights, they have been afforded a range of responsibilities, including investigating conflict-related human rights violations, assisting with the establishment and functioning of ad hoc mechanisms like truth and reconciliation commissions, and contributing to accountability. Drawing on evidence from the case of Nepal, however, this article demonstrates that engaging in transitional justice processes places NHRIs at considerable risk. It argues, in particular, that the political nature of transitional justice and compromises it inevitably entails can serve to jeopardise the legitimacy, credibility, and effectiveness of NHRIs. The article thus concludes that far greater consideration of the impact that transitional justice has on NHRIs and development of measures to protect their integrity in highly fraught political contexts is required.

Dissecting Stakeholder Participation in UN Human Rights Treaty Body Activities with Normative and Empirical Approaches: A Comparison of NGO and NHRI Participation

Abstract By addressing the question “Are the roles and values of stakeholder participation qualitatively different for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and national human rights institutions (NHRIs), and if so, how?” this article dissects stakeholder participation in UN human rights treaty body activities. First, it normatively posits that stakeholder participation in treaty body activities carries three values, which weigh differently based on the actor and the treaty body activity concerned: facilitating “bounded” national deliberations, promoting international deliberations on human rights treaty standards, and supplementing the treaty bodies’ fact-finding capacity. It offers concrete normative guidance for treaty bodies on their engagement with NGO and NHRI participation to maximize the benefits of these values. It then empirically analyzes their current practice in light of the above-mentioned normative guidance. This article contributes, first, to the theorization of stakeholder participation in treaty body activities, which has been discussed but only in generalized or fragmented ways in previous studies. Second, it supports the effectiveness and legitimacy of treaty bodies by endorsing their practice that is consistent with the guidance and finding space for improvement. Finally, it provides a rationale for establishing and strengthening NHRIs by showing that NHRI participation has unique roles distinct from those of NGOs.

A global protection gap: Migrant insecurity in Mexico

AbstractOver the last decade, Mexico has gone from being a major source of immigrants to an important transit and destination country for asylum seekers and migrants from Central and South America. When President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018, he pledged to implement a migration policy that prioritized humanitarian protection and honored Mexico's international and national human rights commitments. To what extent have these goals been achieved? In this article, I rely on a variety of sources to document the widening gap between Mexico's legal and stated commitments to the protection of migrants' rights and their implementation. I argue that there are both external and domestic constraints that hinder the implementation of human rights commitments and contribute to the migrant protection gap in Mexico. First, Mexican migration and humanitarian goals are inevitably shaped by the pervasive asymmetry characterizing relations with the United States. Second, capacity problems and domestic political tensions have undermined the Mexican government's ability to protect the safety of migrants. Meanwhile, the Mexican case is useful to highlight the sometimes neglected but important role of transnational nongovernmental and international organizations in filling the protection gap by providing support to host country governments and offering complementary protection to migrants.

Interests convergence in global human rights politics

Abstract What explains the convergence and divergence of states’ interests related to global human rights? This study examines the dyadic similarity of the language used in the multilateral dialogue focusing on the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). The joint activities of NGOs influence states, and human rights norms are transmitted through IGOs. Using text analysis methods, the similarity between state recommendations during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is systematically quantified. Analyses suggest that a pair of states are more likely to use similar language in UPR recommendations as the number of joint activities of NGOs, shared memberships in IGOs, and shared experience in the UNHRC increases. The effects are robust even after controlling for different types of political relationships between states.

A UNHRC Resolution of Questionable Legality on Sri Lanka and its Importance as a Catalyst for Future UN Reform

From 2012-2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a series of resolutions on Sri Lanka calling for accountability for war crimes and other crimes purportedly committed during the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This paper challenges the traditional narrative regarding the resolutions – ie that it was a well-intentioned effort by the sponsoring nations, the United States (US) and its allies, to foster peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Instead, this paper argues that in pursuing the resolutions, the UNHRC has violated the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter) as well as the UNHRC’s founding documents. The author contends that, through these resolutions, the US and its allies have developed a series of innovative tactics to enable them to intervene in the internal affairs of weak nations by using the UNHRC as a conduit. It is in the interest of the friends of the United Nations (UN) and, in general, all persons who value the rule of law in international affairs to know about what has happened so that they can advocate for the relevant reforms in order to prevent the UN from losing its credibility any further.

New National and International Processes of Human Dimensions of the Environmental Rights

Due to activities such as illegal deforestation, production of chemicals and plastics, exploitation of fossil fuels, and other large-scale extractive activities, businesses operating in the global economy routinely compromise human rights to have a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment. This human right was recognized by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2021 and it includes fundamental rights related to clean air, safe climate, access to safe water and adequate sanitation, healthy and sustainable food production, informal environments for living and working, studying and playing, and biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. By jeopardizing this human right related to nature, life, health, livelihood, and sustainable development, business activists threaten the life prospects of billions of people. The most vulnerable beneficiaries affected by commercial activities such as children, women, indigenous peoples, local communities, farmers, people with disabilities, and especially those whose identity exists in multiple vulnerable groups usually face the most difficult barriers, including financial, language, information barriers, social labeling associated with human rights violations, lack of access to legal representation, and corruption of law enforcement officials, to adopt effective solutions. When victims in countries with limited law enforcement and economic capacity face corruption and other weaknesses in the rule of law, and when justice must be served through transnational legal actions that are beyond the capacity of most human rights victims, solutions effectively are particularly elusive.

The Politics of STEMM Collaboration between Australia and China: National Security, Geopolitics, and Academic Freedom

ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, there has been a proliferation in science, technology, engineering, maths, and medical (STEMM) collaboration between Australian and Chinese universities and academics, which has produced divisions over the scientific, economic, human rights, and national security implications. Drawing on interviews with 22 academic researchers and the works of public commentators, I devise a typology of perceptions on STEMM collaboration: Pragmatic, Cosmopolitan, CCP-critic, and Leftist. Pragmatic and Cosmopolitan perceptions, which promote deep China engagement, are the most influential over the Australian government and university leadership strategy due to the economic and scientific opportunities that China presents, but CCP-critics, who highlight the national security and human rights risks involved, have growing influence over how the government and universities perceive and manage the relationship. The interviews also reveal that academic freedom means the freedom to pursue research without external influence. Shaped by individual experiences and assumptions regarding China, academics differ over what academic freedom should protect to maximise the benefits of STEMM collaboration while minimising risks. Overall, my findings suggest that geopolitical competition and perceptions of the risks and opportunities of China engagement shape STEMM collaboration and the freedom of academics.

‘So…What Exactly Is To Be Done?’: The National Implementation of Reasonable Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities According to the United Nations Human Rights System

This article explores the specific measures that States should adopt for the national implementation of reasonable accommodations —a key feature of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and a critical tool in addressing disability equality and non-discrimination. It argues that the Convention itself offers limited guidance on this issue, suggesting that State Parties should turn to the practices of UN human right bodies for orientation, despite acknowledging challenges in doing so. The main finding highlights that the national implementation of reasonable accommodations demands a series of measures across different domains, emphasizing that mere incorporation into national legislation is necessary but not sufficient.

Daniel Billy et al v Australia (Torres Strait Islanders Petition): Climate change inaction as a human rights violation

AbstractThis case note analyses in detail the decision of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRComm) in Daniel Billy et al v Australia. The decision concerned a communication brought by members of an indigenous peoples' group from the Torres Strait Islands in the state of Queensland, Australia. The applicants claimed that their human rights had been violated as a result of the State's failure to take mitigation and adaptation measures to combat the effects of climate change. The HRComm's finding of a violation of the applicants' human rights deserves a closer look, as it has broader implications for future climate change‐related human rights litigation. While the HRComm missed the opportunity to consider the State's human rights obligations concerning climate change mitigation, this decision represents an important milestone in climate change litigation, as it confirms a State's obligation to protect a community from adverse climate change effects and recognises the specific vulnerabilities of indigenous peoples and their cultures to its impacts.

Ensuring accountability, combatting impunity? The role of national human rights institutions in transitional justice

ABSTRACT During the past three decades, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) have become an increasingly common feature of transitional justice frameworks. Promoted by international organisations, including the United Nations and its relevant agencies, and by several regional NHRI networks, contemporary human rights policy and discourse has coalesced around the idea that NHRIs may contribute to transitional justice by ensuring accountability and combatting impunity. In practice, however, relatively little is known about the specific roles envisaged for and played by NHRIs in transitional and post-conflict contexts. This article examines the role of NHRIs in transitional justice from the 1970s to the present. Drawing on the mandates and experiences of 137 NHRIs, it demonstrates that NHRIs are increasingly being afforded responsibility for three types of accountability tasks associated with transitional justice: investigating past human rights violations, holding post-transitional actors and institutions to account; and managing the provision of reparations to victims of human rights abuses. This, it argues, represents a small but significant development, both for the practice of transitional justice and for the roles and functions of NHRIs.

Қазақстандағы Адам құқықтары жөніндегі уәкіл институты: мәртебесі және даму перспективалары

The Commissioner for human rights or the ombudsman is the most important figure in a complex multi-level system of observance and protection of human rights. Each state undertakes to protect human rights and creates appropriate legislation and institutional structures for this, including national human rights institutions. Traditionally, national human rights institutions are defined as state structures for the promotion and protection of human rights. The activity of the institution of the Commissioner for human rights as an individual model of a national human rights institution is based on the norms established by the Paris Principles of 1993. The Paris Principles became the document that installed standards for the work of national human rights institutions, taking into account their diversity. The Republic of Kazakhstan has joined the majority of international treaties dealing with human rights issues. An important step in implementing the obligations under these agreements was the establishment of the institution of the Commissioner for human rights or ombudsman in 2002. The Ombudsman is an official with the authority to monitor the observance of human rights and freedoms and restore them within his competence. His activities complement the current system of state protection of human rights and freedoms. This article examines the features of the institution of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Kazakhstan, analyzes its compliance with international standards, and determines the directions of its further development. The authors used both general scientific and sociological research methods, in particular, document analysis and expert survey. The purpose of this work is to study the social institution of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Kazakhstan, to determine the features and prospects of its activities. The research used scientific publications, official reports of international experts, national reports, reviews of international organizations whose activities are aimed at the realization and protection of human rights.

The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms: A Fertile Ground for the Protection of the Environment?

Although the European system for the protection of human rights still does not explicitly recognize the right to a healthy environment as a human right, in recent decades, there has been an increasing trend of using the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms to solve environmental protection issues. In this regard, analyzing and applying the standards created by the European Court of Human Rights in environmental cases is necessary to strengthen national legislation, to practice, and face growing environmental challenges. The authors analyze the relationship between environmental and human rights, arguing the need to establish a normative link between both to systematically implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for future generations. The central part of the paper is dedicated to research, analysis and assessment of the condition and status of environmental rights that have developed based on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. The relationship between environmental protection and human rights as a synergistic conception in general international law has also found a place in this study, since the European regional legal system in this regard cannot be adequately explored without proper perception and understanding of the universal system of the protection of human rights and the environment, which is conceptually well reflected in multiple Sustainable Development Goals. In order to continue finding the most efficient international institutional protection mechanisms, it is essential to consistently detect and present the international normative framework that recognizes the right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment as a human right. Relying on the latter, the authors present and problematize the issue of recognizing the right to a healthy environment as a human right in adopting the 2021 United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution that prescribed the right to a healthy environment as a human right.

Integrating international policy standards in the implementation of postnatal care: a rapid review

IntroductionInternational legal and political documents can assist policy-makers and programme managers in countries to create an enabling environment to promote maternal and newborn health. This review aimed to map and...

A Review on the Facts causing the Complaint and the Counting Theory of Human Rights Violations in the Complaint Procedure of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea

A Review on the Facts causing the Complaint and the Counting Theory of Human Rights Violations in the Complaint Procedure of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea