National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2015
policies. The symposium was held in the presence of people with mental disabilities, personnel
Part II
of local communities for the mentally challenged and ways to improve related legislations and
from related groups, and experts at home and abroad.
based on the UNCRPD, (2) legal capability of the mentally challenged, and (3) cases studies
on the efforts in major Asian countries to promote the social integration of people with mental
disabilities. We also conducted a comparison of treatment and policies for the disabled in
different countries, reviewing the perspective of the ROK government and its policies.
K. Forum to promote implementation of the UNCRPD
The Commission co-hosted a forum with Bae, Kim & Lee LLC and Dongcheon Foundation
on November 30th to promote implementation of the UNCRPD. In the forum, we discussed:
(1) the monitoring plan for the implementation of the UNCRPD, (2) ways to improve access
to public transportation for wheelchair-using people with disabilities, and (3) ways to improve
access to supportive equipment for the disabled. Kim Hyung-Shik, a member of the concerned
UN committee, delivered a keynote speech on the international trends concerning monitoring on
the UNCRPD implementation.
L. Forum to discuss the domestic implementation of international human rights
standards for youth and children
International human rights standards for youth and children serves as an important guideline
to examine domestic human rights policies for youth and children and come up with ways
to improve it. In particular, the Fifth and Sixth National Report to be submitted to the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child is due in June, 2017. Therefore, the Commission hosted
a forum on December 4th under the theme of: “How far have we come in realizing children’s
rights? - Is it enough to prioritize the best interest of children?”. Based on the CRC, we
examined the effectiveness of and issues in domestic legislations and policies as well as the
current progress of implementation of the 3rd and 4th Concluding Observations from the UN
Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2011 through presentations. In addition, we brought
together experts in academia and personnel from government agencies related to youth and
children.
Part II Major Activities of NHRCK | 61
Major Activities of NHRCK
In the symposium, we discussed: (1) the necessity of promoting integration of the disabled