A blinking red light on the commission

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A blinking red light on the commission

Published: 09 Sep. 2024, 20:13

Yang Sung-hee
The author is a columnist of the JoongAng Ilbo.

President Yoon Suk Yeol stood by his appointment of Ahn Chang-ho as the new chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Ahn took office on Sept. 6 despite controversy over his qualifications at last week’s National Assembly confirmation hearing.

“I oppose the anti-discrimination bill in its current form. If it is enacted, it can be used for a Communist revolution,” Ahn said during the hearing. He also said, “Evolution and creationism are matters of faith, rather than scientific evidences. I hope both theories will be taught together in schools.” When asked if homosexuality is a disease, he said it was “highly controversial.” In an earlier lecture, Ahn opposed sex education in public schools, saying that parents should educate their children according to their own values and perspectives.

Even taking into account his freedom of religion, ideology and expression as a conservative lawyer and a devout Christian, Ahn’s remarks are largely nonsensical. Even if he were just an ordinary person, he would have been criticized for a lack of sensitivity towards human rights. But he is now the head of the human rights commission.

Furthermore, the law governing the commission already stated that discrimination against gender, age, religion and sexual orientation are prohibited. He said, “My [religious] beliefs will not undermine the objectivity of the commission.” But many human rights groups protested his appointment while conservative Protestant denominations welcomed it.

To add insult to injury, the commission has been undergoing intense infighting. Inappropriate and harsh words from Kim Yong-won and Lee Choong-sang — two members of the commission, who were newly appointed by President Yoon — were reported many times. Kim and Lee, both lawyers, had used hateful language in public, including “gay in diapers,” “human rights salesmen” and “garbage journalists.” They are reportedly in serious conflicts with commission staffers.

The NHRC was launched in 2001 in accordance with the Paris Principles (Principles Relating to the Status of National Human Rights Institutions) adopted in the United Nations General Assembly in 1993. The commission is highly symbolic for its contribution to raising human rights awareness and improving national prestige of Korea.

Since 2006, the NHRC has consistently recommended the enactment of the anti-discrimination law. “Most OECD members already have equality laws [anti-discrimination laws] except for Korea and Japan. As a board member of the UN Human Rights Council, Korea must respond to the international community’s call to enact an equality law,” the commission consistently said. With Ahn’s appointment, this history can be disrupted.

Despite some oppositions against the establishment of an anti-discrimination law, it’s a different story when this argument comes from the head of the NHRC, the last bastion of human rights defense. At the confirmation hearing, Ahn said, “An advanced country is where human rights for minorities are protected while human rights of a majority are not violated.” This may sound reasonable at first glance, but if you place the rights for minorities and the rights of a majority in a confrontational structure, you will end up with a strange conclusion that human rights of minorities can be sacrificed under majority rule when a conflict erupts.

There are increasing demands that the composition of the NHRC, which is heavily occupied by lawyers, must be reconsidered. Currently, eight out of the 11 commission members, including the chairman, are lawyers or law professors. Because law practitioners are interested in the strict application and stability of laws, they consistently faced criticism for their weakness in acknowledging new issues and following global trends. In other words, they view human rights issues from the perspective of laws, rather than human rights.

“I’m a lawyer, too, but we should be wary of the commission being composed mainly of lawyers,” Kim Soo-jung, an outgoing member, said in her recent interview. “The role of lawyers should be focused on actual working-level supports.” The Paris Principles also stressed the importance of diversity in the composition of human rights commissions.

The governing People Power Party is not interested in the controversy while the Democratic Party attempts to revise the law governing the commission to allow an impeachment of the commissioners. But rather than starting a political fight over impeachment, isn’t it better to change the election system of the commissioners? A red light is blinking on the human rights commission.