This page summarizes cases raised with South Korea (the Republic of Korea) by the Special Rapporteur between May 1, 2011, (when the Special Rapporteur took up his functions) and February 28, 2017 (the date of the last public release of communications). Communications are released to the public once per year. This page also contains observations on these communications and on responses received from South Korea. Communications and observations are divided into sections based upon which observation report they originally appeared. Each communication is referenced as urgent appeal (UA), allegation letter (AL), joint urgent appeal (JUA) and joint allegation letter (JAL) - the hyperlinks lead to these documents. This is followed by the date the communication was issued, as well as the case number and the State reply (also hyperlinked if available). Summaries and communications are published only in the language of submission (in the case of South Korea, English). First Report (May 1, 2011 to March 15, 2012) None Second Report (March 16, 2012 to February 28, 2013) Joint allegation letter, 30/05/2012. Case no. KOR 2/2012. State Reply: 02/01/2013. Alleged acts of harassment, intimidation and ill-treatment of peaceful protesters in Gangjeong village. Observations The Special Rapporteur thanks the... Continue reading →
GENEVA – A group of United Nations independent experts, including Maina Kiai, today expressed deep concern about the critical health condition of prominent Chinese human rights defender Yang Maodong, known by his pen-name Guo Feixiong. They called on the Government of China to urgently provide Mr. Guo with specialized medical care, based on his full and informed consent, and stop all forms of ill-treatment. “We are concerned about repeated incidents of degrading and humiliating treatment suffered by Mr Guo in detention, both at the hands of other inmates and prison guards at Yangchun Prison in Guangdong province,” they said. Mr. Guo has been on a hunger strike for almost three months demanding to be transferred to another prison where he would be free from ill-treatment. “His public profile as a human rights defender seems to have been the cause and aggravating factor for the denial of appropriate medical care and ill-treatment, which included sleep deprivation, harassment, and humiliating medical procedure filmed by prison officials for public release,” the experts stated. The human rights defender was arrested in August 2013 for taking part in a public protest against official censorship of a Guangzhou newspaper. In November 2015, he was sentenced to six years of imprisonment on charges... Continue reading →
GENEVA – A group of United Nations human rights experts today called on the Chinese authorities to repeal the Law on the Management of Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations’ Activities adopted by the National People’s Congress on 28 April 2016. The Law will enter into force on 1 January 2017. “We fear that the excessively broad and vague provisions, and administrative discretion given to the authorities in regulating the work of foreign NGOs can be wielded as tools to intimidate, and even suppress, dissenting views and opinions in the country,” warned the UN Special Rapporteurs on freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai; on human rights defenders, Michel Forst; and on freedom of expression, David Kaye. Under the new Law, foreign NGOs are banned from undertaking activities deemed as ‘endangering national unity, national security or ethnic unity or harming China’s national interests and societal public interests…’. “Such broadly crafted restrictions fail to comply with international human rights norms and standards relating to freedom of association and freedom of expression,” the experts stressed. The Law also prohibits foreign NGOs from conducting ‘political activities’ without specifying what such activities entail, hence allowing arbitrary and broad... Continue reading →
