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 →
Issue No. 23 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • Kiai to present final report to UN General Assembly, examining assembly and association rights in the workplace • The 10 principles checklist: rate your country’s management of assemblies • South Korea: Kiai calls for investigation into lethal use of water cannon • Jordan: UN rights expert Kaye condemns killing of journalist Nahed Hattar • Sudan: Charges against rights activists could bring death penalty • DR Congo: UN experts deeply condemn new violent repression of protests • Ecuador: UN rights experts condemn ‘legal death’ of prominent teachers association UNE • USA: “Indigenous peoples must be consulted prior to pipeline construction” • Assembly & association rights: By the numbers • Special Rapporteur news in brief: September-October 2016 • World briefing: Assembly & association rights in the news For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or click here (5MB file). To subscribe to our newsletter, please drop us a line at info@freeassembly.net with the subject line “subscribe to newsletter.” For other recent... Continue reading →
(English) 제네바 (2016년 9월 28일) - 마이나 키아이(Maina Kiai) 유엔 평화적 집회 맟 결사의 자유 특별보고관은 한국 집회 참가자 백남기 농민이 지난 9월 25일 사망한 데 크게 낙심하며, 백남기 농민을 죽음에 이르게 한 2015년 경찰의 물대포 사용과 관련하여 독립적이고 완전한 조사를 할 것을 촉구한다. 69세 농민인 백씨는 2015년 11월 14일, 서울에서 열린 평화로운 집회에 참석했다가 경찰이 쏜 물대포에 맞아서 땅에 쓰러졌다. 그는 사망할 때까지 의식이 없었다. “이 비극적 죽음에 대해 백남기 농민의 가족과 친구들에게 깊은 위로를 전한다. 2016년 1월 한국을 공식 방문 했을 때 서울에서, 그리고 지난 6월 제네바에서 백남기 농민의 딸들을 만날 기회가 있었다. 그토록 참혹한 시간 속에서도 아버지를 위해 정의를 찾으려는 그들의 용기와 투지에 겸허해졌다”라고 키아이 특별보고관은 말했다. 키아이 특별보고관은 “2015년 11월 민중총궐기 당시 경찰의 물대포 사용에 대해 철저하고 독립적인 수사를 실시할 것을 촉구한다. 동영상을 통해 볼 때 물대포 사용이 백남기 농민을 죽음에 이르게 한... Continue reading →
(한국어 - unofficial translation) GENEVA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, expressed dismay over the 25 September death of South Korean protester Baek Nam-gi, and called for a full and independent investigation into the police’s use of a water cannon last year that led to his death. Mr. Baek, a 69-year old farmer, was knocked to the ground by a water cannon operated by the police while taking part in a peaceful rally in Seoul on 14 November 2015. He had remained in a coma until his passing. “I express my deepest condolences to the relatives and friends of Mr. Baek Nam-gi for this tragic loss. I had the chance to meet Mr. Baek’s daughters in Seoul during my country visit in January 2016 and in Geneva last June. I was very humbled by their courage and determination to seek justice for their father in such harrowing times,” Mr. Kiai said. “I call for a full and independent investigation into the police’s use of water cannon during the rally of November 2015 that unambiguously led to Mr. Baek’s death according to video footage available,” the expert stated. “The perpetrators should be held accountable and the family of Mr. Baek receive appropriate compensation; in addition, adequate measures... Continue reading →
Issue No. 21 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • Kiai tells Human Rights Council that fundamentalist intolerance is degrading assembly & association rights • Kenya: UNSR tells court that 2015 protest ban violated assembly rights • Contribute to the UNSR’s next report: FoAA rights in the context of labor • Human rights must gain new momentum at World Humanitarian Summit • Problem of closing civic space creeps into UN NGO Committee • Rapporteurs urge India to repeal law restricting NGO’s access to foreign funding • UN expert deplores harsh sentencing of Tajikistan opposition leaders and warns of radicalization • Egypt: Worsening crackdown on protests • UN human rights experts urge Cambodia to stop attacks against civil society • Iran: Denial of adequate medical treatment to political prisoners unacceptable • ‘A travesty of justice’ – UN experts condemn conviction of prominent Iran activist • China: Newly adopted Foreign NGO Law should be repealed, UN experts urge • Somalia: Experts alarmed over growing persecution against trade unionists • Kazakhstan clampdown on land reform... Continue reading →
GENEVA – The phenomenon of fundamentalism is fueling growing intolerance worldwide, which poses a grave threat to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, United Nations expert Maina Kiai told the Human Rights Council today in presenting his latest report on religious, free market, political, and nationalist or cultural fundamentalism. “The concept of fundamentalism cannot be limited to religion,” cautioned the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. “It can and should be defined more expansively, to include any movements – not simply religious ones – that advocate strict and literal adherence to a set of basic beliefs or principles.” “At its core, this report is about the struggle between tolerance and intolerance,” Mr. Kiai stressed. “The people of the world speak some 7,000 languages, practice 270 major religions, live in 193 UN Member States and belong to thousands of cultures. But we share only one planet,” the human rights expert said. “We will not always agree. But tolerance towards our differences is the only way to make sure that they do not boil over into violence, oppression and conflict.” For the Special Rapporteur, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are the... Continue reading →
GENEVA – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai is in Geneva this week to present his latest reports to the 32nd session of the UN Human Rights Council. Kiai’s presentation to the Council on June 17 will be his last as Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (his final report to the Council will be presented by his successor in June 2017). Kiai will present two reports covering his country visits to Chile and the Republic of Korea and a third focusing on the impact of fundamentalism on assembly and association rights (FOAA rights). A fourth report contains his observations on the mandate’s official communications with UN Member States and replies between March 1, 2015, and February 28, 2016. The June 17 presentation will take place at the Palais des Nations, Room XX; it is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. The session will be broadcast live on http://webtv.un.org/. Thematic report: Fundamentalism and FOAA rights Kiai’s fourth thematic report to the Council examines the role that that fundamentalist ideologies play in restricting assembly and association rights. Although fundamentalism is often defined in exclusively religious terms, the Special Rapporteur takes a much broader view of the concept in this report. He argues that... Continue reading →
Issue No. 18 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this issue: • Full coverage of the Special Rapporteur's recently-completed mission to South Korea • Call for submissions for the UNSR’s next report: Exploring fundamentalism’s impact on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association • UNSR releases annual report recapping 2015 • UN experts urge review of UK surveillance bill threatening freedom of expression • Stop harassment of human rights defenders in occupied Palestinian Territory – UN experts • Alarms over Saudi Arabia’s growing clampdown on freedom of expression • Fundamental freedoms key to ensuring peaceful and fair elections in Venezuela • UN rights experts urge France to protect fundamental rights while countering terrorism • UN experts urge Ethiopia to halt crackdown on protesters, ensure accountability • Freedom of association and assembly: By the numbers • Special Rapporteur news in brief: December 2015 - January 2016 • World briefing: Freedom of assembly and association in the news For a link to the newsletter, click on the image at right or click here (1.9MB file) or here (4.5MB full... Continue reading →
SEOUL – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai today commended the Republic of Korea’s “impressive achievements,” but underlined that its journey to democracy is not yet over. At the end of his first official visit to the country, Mr. Kiai warned that the democracy project is still being threatened by a decline on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. “The project of building democracy and human rights in South Korea is not over; indeed it never truly is, in any nation,” said the independent expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and promote the realization of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association worldwide. “What we have is a structure, and our solemn task as governments and citizens is to continually build upon that structure, strengthening the foundation and cultivating its resilience.” While the Special Rapporteur applauded the Government’s many human rights achievements, he also highlighted “a trend of gradual regression on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association – not a dramatic shutdown of these rights, but a slow, creeping inclination to degrade them.” Mr. Kiai said that undue restrictions are seeping into every stage of the peaceful assembly process in South Korea, despite... Continue reading →
Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai undertook an official mission to the Republic of Korea Jan. 20-29, 2016. The visit was carried out pursuant to his mandate to assess the situation of freedoms of peaceful assembly and association in the country. The Special Rapporteur concluded his visit by congratulating the Republic of Korea on its "arduous journey" from authoritarian rule to democracy, and noted its leading role in the promotion and protection of human rights at the international level. His was quick to caution, however, that "the project of building democracy and human rights in South Korea is not over; indeed it never truly is, in any nation." "What we have is a structure, and our solemn task as governments and citizens is to continually build upon that structure, strengthening the foundation, cultivating its resilience," the Special Rapporteur said during a press conference at the conclusion of his visit on Jan. 29, 2016. Every democratic country will inevitably face challenges, but what concerned the Special Rapporteur during his visit was how the Government of South Korea is addressing them. "I sense a trend of gradual regression on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association – not a dramatic shutdown of these rights, but a slow, creeping inclination to degrade... Continue reading →
