children's rights as an additional criterion to add to the qualifications required of foster
care family homes; vi) to add confirmation of the opinion of a child on the application
form for child protection, admission to a facility and their return home; and vii) to
establish procedures for informing the child of changes in protective measures and other
matters in the provisions concerning child protection.
E. Opinion on a Case of Sexual Harassment and Wage Discrimination Against Foreign
Crews on Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels
The NHRCK received a complaint about a case of sexual harassment and wage
discrimination against migrant workers on pelagic fishing vessels, which was submitted by
the Korean House for International Solidarity and two other organizations in October 2011.
The case came to epitomize the poor human rights conditions for foreign sailors
working on deep-sea fishing vessels with Korean registry, as the New Zealand
government and scholars published reports about this issue.
As such, the Commission expressed the following opinions to various organizations
regarding this case: (May 10, 2012):
1) That the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Land,
Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Korea
Coast Guard form a government joint investigation team to scrutinize the human rights
violations of foreign crewmembers on deep-sea fishing vessels with Korean registry in
New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone and come up with measures to protect their
human rights and remedies for the victims;
2) That the Korea Deep Sea Fisheries Association protect the human rights of foreign
crewmembers and improve their working conditions; and
3) That the owner of the fishing vessels in question strive to resolve the issues of the
human rights violations, sexual harassment and wage disputes related to migrant sailors
working for the owner company in a smooth and reasonable manner and come up with
measures to prevent the recurrence of similar cases.
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Part II. Major Activities of the Commission