A Submission from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) as part of the Second Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) I. Introduction 1. This submission is the contribution of the NHRCK, an “A” status institution, on the situation of human rights in the Republic of Korea (ROK) from 2008 to 2011, particularly in relation to the implementation of 33 recommendations put forward during the last UPR. II. Follow-up to Recommendations from the First UPR A. Regarding Recommendations Accepted by the Government 2. The Government checks the progress of implementation of accepted recommendations from the HRC and UN treaty bodies by incorporating them into the National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. However, there exists the need to set up a comprehensive and systematic implementing mechanism, including a process of selecting the order of priority among all the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Mechanisms and regularly monitoring the progress made in their implementation. Furthermore, the Government should establish a channel for the NHRCK and civil society organizations to participate in the work of the National Human Rights Policy Council in relation to the implementation of recommendations from the UPR and treaty bodies. 3. The Act on the Treatment of Foreigners in Korea enacted in 2007 has contributed to the promotion of rights of foreigners in the ROK. While foreign workers are permitted to change their workplace a limited number of times under the ROK employment permit system, the NHRCK recommended to the Government in 2008 and December 2011 that it increase the number of approved reasons for which a foreign worker can change their workplace. Consequently, the Government partially accepted those recommendations to reform the relevant regulations in favor of migrant workers. In the future, the Government should develop a system to provide migrants with administrative services such as interpretation and counseling and should include their voices when formulating a migrant worker policy. The Government should also further develop its policy to prevent industrial accidents and ensure that migrant workers have access to remedies when they occur. Furthermore, the Government should follow the Human Rights Guidelines for Migrants which were suggested by the NHRCK in February 2012. 4. The Support for Multicultural Families Act was enacted in 2008 with the aim of supporting marriage migrants and their families. However, this act is not sufficient to protect the rights of all migrant women, such as single women and divorced women even whose ex-husband was mainly responsible for the divorce. The Government should also formulate policies on the prevention of discrimination against migrant women workers, violence against migrant women, the promotion of maternity protection, and the guarantee of the right to education and health of the child. 5. Even though the Constitutional Court ruled against the Government’s prohibition of nighttime outdoor assemblies, relevant articles have not yet been amended. This requires prompt legislative reform. The Government should relax restrictions on possible venues for demonstrations and the registration system for demonstrations, and strictly manage the usage 1