National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2021 2. Major Programs to Promote Human Rights A. Protecting the rights of migrants and refugees ■ ‌On-site monitoring with regards to seizure of migrant fishers’ passports Though the act of taking away migrant fishermen’s passports and other identification documents is prohibited under the amended Seafarers’ Act, such practices has been continuously reported. From September 7 to 26, the Commission together with the Human Rights Network for Migrant Fishermen carried out an online survey (in Vietnamese and Indonesian language, etc.) of migrant fishers working on coastal workers fishing (CWF) vessels weighing 20 tons or more. The survey, which was focused on gathering examples of human rights infringements in the form of passport confiscation and find remedies for the victims, was conducted using the non-probability snowball sampling technique7). A total of 221 responses, which resulted in a statistically valid response rate, was received on whether the respondents were in possession of their passport, alien registration card, and bank account, how their passport was confiscated, and whether they wished to get their documents back. Most respondents (198 of 221, or 90%) were found not to be in possession of their passports, with 62 (31%) not having asked for their passport back out of “fear” (98%) or “helplessness (won’t get it back anyway).” The Commission also conducted on-site monitoring activities in Jeju, including a meeting with related organizations and in-depth interviews with eleven migrant workers on November 2 and November 21, respectively. In 2022, the Commission will monitor other areas and take necessary actions to eradicate the practice of passport confiscation. 7) ‌Snowball sampling is a nonprobability sampling technique where a small pool of initial informants who nominate future subjects with similar traits from among their acquaintances. Though this technique allows description of respondent traits, it can lead to biased results. 70