Key NHRCK Activities
D. Recommendation to improve immigration detention following
on-site inspections
On July 22, 2020, the Commission had decided to initiate on-site inspections of immigration
detention centers. Under the COVID-19 situation, inspections focused on restrictions placed on
Part 2 Key NHRCK Activities
On November 22, the Plenary Committee concluded that the Central Disaster and Safety
Countermeasures Headquarters did not accept the recommendations for non-discriminatory
quarantine measures as no answer was received, while those made to local governments were
partially accommodated.
Part 1 Introduction
The Commission acknowledged the authorities’ active efforts to stop COVID-19 from
spreading. However, it concluded that pinpointing and separating a certain population group
without a justifiable reason could undermine voluntary participation in quarantine, and cause
hatred and discrimination by branding foreigners as infection suspects. This, in turn, does
nothing to help achieve quarantine objectives but rather threatens the overall safety of the entire
community. The Commission also recommended that quarantine measures be established to
guarantee migrant workers the right to a safe workplace, including improving labor and living
conditions that are at high risk of COVID-19 infection.
immigrants’ exercise of their rights.
work with immigration detention centers to ensure that those who are detained comply with
quarantine measures, establish channels of cooperation with medical institutions so that detainees
can get proper healthcare from the time they are detained, secure additional guards to enable
outside medical examination in time, and positively review options for temporarily releasing
detainees so that they are not held for too long since the facilities are designed for short-term
detention. Also, to ensure that restrictions placed on detainees’ visitation rights are not excessive
beyond what is provided in the infection management guidelines of the Central Disaster and Safety
Countermeasures Headquarters (CDC), it recommended that visitation conditions be reviewed
and, unless restricting visitation is absolutely necessary for quarantine purposes, alternative options
such as virtual visitation be established.
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Part 3 Appendices
Based on the findings, the Commission on May 12 recommended that the Minister of Justice