NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF KOREA Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – July 2022 2021). In addition, the government gradually augments foundations to guarantee the right of persons with disabilities by enforcing the Act on the Improvement of Mental Health and the Support for Welfare Service for Mental Patients(hereinafter referred to as “Mental Health and Welfare Act”) on May 29, 2017, which strengthens requirement and procedure of involuntary hospitalization. Recently, the reservation of Article 25 Subparagraph (e) of the Convention was withdrawn(approved by the President on December 14, 2021), and it is also welcomed that the proposal for ratification of the Optional Protocol has passed the Cabinet Meeting(December 12, 2021) to undergo the process for approval of the National Assembly. However, efforts are required for the actual ratification of the Optional Protocol as the approval at the National Assembly is being delayed. ㅇ In spite of those efforts and positive achievements of the government, the National Report submitted by the government has several limitations. First, reasons that delay the implementation of the Convention due to legal enforcement or practice are not sufficiently described, and optional rules and legal provisions which bear only theoretical significance are often cited as examples of compliance with the Convention, thus failing to provide an accurate explanation of the human rights status of persons with disabilities in Korea. ㅇ Second, the Guidelines demand that statistical data should be presented for the comparison and confirmation of the implementation of the States’ obligations and the protection of rights of persons with disabilities corresponding to respective articles of the Convention. However, the National Report does not provide sufficient data necessary for the analysis of the human rights status of persons with disabilities or implementation status as it failed to provide data in relation to education, labor, and employment of persons with disabilities or tended to provide the overall status of supply and size from the government’s perspective. ㅇ Third, although the budget is what shows government’s commitment to policy, the report barely mentions budget. ㅇ The purpose of the National Report should be about reviewing the level of compliance of domestic laws with the Convention and identify issues associated with the implementation of the Convention and areas to improve, so as to set the 4