Submission with regard to the UPR mechanism submitted by the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea Introduction 1. The National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea (hereinafter NHRCK) hereby submits information on human rights situations in the Republic of Korea (hereinafter ROK), in particular, for the 4 years from 2004 to 2007, taking note of the UN HRC Resolution 5/1, 15(a). The NHRCK is an A-accredited national human rights institution, as it was established in 2001 in accordance with the Paris Principles. 2. During the course of writing this document, the NHRCK consulted with various civil groups. However, the opinion of this document is solely that of the NHRCK. Preparation for the UPR 3. It is hard for the NHRCK to assess to what extent the government will consult and listen to stakeholders, including NGOs, during the preparation of the state report. In consideration of past experiences with regard to the state party reporting and examination process under the international human rights instruments, the government needs to find a more effective means to consult and cooperate with stakeholders. National Frameworks for Human Rights 4. The Constitution includes the Bill of Rights as well as various human rights protection mechanisms. In May 2007, the government set up the National Action Plans for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (NAP) as recommended by the NHRCK in 2005 and made it public. Though being the first plan for national human rights policy, the NAP failed to include important issues recommended by the NHRCK (See Annex). It is too soon to tell to what extent and how the NAP is being implemented. 5. Under the Constitution, the international human rights instruments acceded and ratified by the government have the same legal effect as the domestic legislation. However, international human rights law is still not widely known to the public, and the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches do not possess an in-depth understanding of their legal obligations to implement international human rights law. Recently the Judicial and the Legislative branches have begun to refer to international human rights law. Cooperation with the International Human Rights Mechanisms