National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2020 D. Response to Major Human Rights Issues Equity and anti-discrimination laws and policies The principle of equality is the key principle of the Constitution for guaranteeing basic rights. The international community has continuously recommended the Korean government to enact an inclusive anti-discrimination law1). Considering that it is now time for Korea as a member of the UN Human Rights Council to respond and there is mature public consensus on the need for an equality law2), the Commission worked on multiple fronts to shape favorable conditions for successful legislation of the law, which had failed to be enacted despite being motioned seven times since 2006, when the Commission had recommended it for the first time. It also laid the legal basis for an inclusive society where diversity is respected and equality is effectively realized. Following the development of a draft equality and anti-discrimination bill (equality law), which came out of several meetings to review key issues (nine times), working-level meetings to shape public discussion (four times), collection of opinions on the proposed bill (six advisory meetings and three meetings for feedback), and workshops of human rights commissioners (two times), the Commission on June 30 expressed opinion to the National Assembly that there is an urgent need for an equality law to be enacted. Furthermore, to support the National Assembly motion the bill, it publicized the issue through various multilateral engagements, including legislation strategy team meetings (nine times), meetings with the Chairman of the National Assembly and political party leaders, meeting with individual lawmakers to orient them on the bill, referral of the topic to the ministerial meeting for social affairs, engagements with the Seoul Bar Association and the Korean Bar Association, meetings with the elders of seven religious orders, presentations of the bill in six regions, 1) The ‌ United Nations Human Rights Committee (deliberation in 2015), Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (deliberation in 2017), Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (deliberation in 2018), Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (deliberation in 2018), Committee on the Rights of the Child (deliberation in 2019) and Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (deliberation in 2017) have recommended legislation of an inclusive anti-discrimination law. 2) In ‌ a survey of how the public perceives discrimination (April 2020), nine out of ten respondents (91.1%) thought they could be an object of discrimination or become a minority and 88.5% sympathized with the need for an inclusive antidiscrimination law. 24